Nov. 19, 2003
The top-seeded and sixth-ranked Georgia Tech volleyball team, the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champions, opens play in the ACC Championships Friday at 1:30 p.m. against Florida State. The 24th annual ACC Tournament continues through Sunday at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.
Eighth seeded Florida State (16-15, 5-11 ACC, defeated NC State, 3-0, in Thursday’s opening round. In Friday’s other quarterfinal action, No. 4 seed North Carolina (19-11,10-6 ACC) will take on No. 5 Virginia (24-8, 8-8 ACC) at 11 a.m., No. 2 seed Maryland (23-7, 12-4 ACC) faces No. 7 seed Duke (10-18, 6-10 ACC) at 5 p.m., and No. 3 seed Wake Forest (21-8, 10-6 ACC) plays No. 6 seed Clemson (17-15, 6-10 ACC) at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s action includes a 1:30 semifinal match featuring the winners of the matches on Friday morning. Should the Jackets win, they will advance to play the winner of Friday’s North Carolina-Virginia matchup at 1:30 p.m. The championship will be held on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised live on Fox Sports Net South.
Each Georgia Tech match will be broadcast live on WREK radio (91.1 FM) and can also be heard in streaming audio over the Internet at www.wrek.org. In addition, livestats will be available for every match in the tournament at www.theacc.com.
The Jackets have an all-time record a 13-24 record in the ACC Tournament. However, since 1991, Tech has a 13-10 record, including its only tournament titles in 2002 and 1995.
During the regular season, Tech won all four matches against the Seminoles and the Wolfpack, including a 3-0 victory two weeks ago over Florida State in Atlanta, Ga.
“Beating any team for the third time in a season is extremely difficult,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “Each of the last three years of the tournament, somebody has beaten a team twice in the regular season and then lost in the tournament, including Georgia Tech. We are trying desperately to stay focused on what is right in front of us, which is the winner of Thursday night’s match, and I can guarantee that either team will play us tougher than they did during the regular season.”
“Having the tournament in Orlando, Fla., is a great reward for our players and will be a great place to play this year’s tournament. At the same time, with so many distractions, it will be a challenge for us to stay focused. The top seed has not fared well in the ACC Tournament over the past six years and we will need to maintain a high level of focus and determination if we expect to be successful this weekend,” said Shymansky.
