Oct. 21, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Lauren Dickson had 25 kills to lead Virginia (15-6, 8-4 ACC) to a 3-2 (30-22, 24-30, 30-22, 27-30, 15-12) victory over Georgia Tech (11-10, 3-8 ACC), holding off the Yellow Jacket comeback Saturday night at Memorial Gym on the campus of the University of Virginia
Virginia won eight of the first 11 points of game five, but the Yellow Jackets posted a comeback, tying the game at 9-9 behind the arm of Ulrike Stegemann. The Cavaliers then won four of the next five points, with kills by Dickson and Sarah Kirkwood, as well as a block by Dickson and Shannon Davis, to take a 13-10 lead, and then held on for the 15-12 victory.
Talisa Kellogg led the Yellow Jackets with a team-high 14 kills, while Callie Miller hit a stellar .476 while recording 11 kills and four block assists on the night. Stegemann posted 12 kills, five assists, three digs and two block assists against Virginia, while rookie Chrissy DeMichelis had one of her most complete matches of the season, recording 11 kills, four digs and three block assists while hitting .333.
Senior libero Abby Showers led the Yellow Jackets defense, recording 21 digs on the night, while Lindsey Gray added 15 digs and four service aces for Georgia Tech.
Sophomore setter Allie Niekamp recorded her sixth double-double of the season, posting 47 assists and 17 digs, while Michelle Kandell recorded 11 digs against Virginia.
Leading the Jackets’ defense at the net was junior Nikki Kaminskas with a team-high eight blocks, while Kellogg added five.
With Tech leading 9-8 in game one, the Cavaliers won six-straight points, aided by four Georgia Tech errors, to take a five-point lead at 14-9. Tech would still be trailing by four points at 26-22 when Virginia finished off the game with a 4-0 run to win, 30-22. The Yellow Jackets managed only 10 kills in the game, hitting just .086, while Virginia hit .298 with 20 kills, led by Lauren Dickson, who had five.
The Tech offense picked up in the second game, hitting .444 with just two errors. Miller recorded five kills on five attempts, while Kellogg added three. Showers played strong in the back row as well, recording seven digs in the game. With Virginia leading 11-10, the Jackets went on a 7-1 run, which included kills by Kellogg and Kaminskas, to take a 17-12 lead. The Cavaliers pulled within two points at 25-23, but Tech finished off the game earning five of the final six points to win, 30-24.
With the score tied at 4-4 in game three, Virginia won five of the next six points, all coming off attacks by Cavalier players. Meanwhile, the Jackets were able to manage just three points off their own serve in the entire game, eventually falling 30-22. The `Hoos were led by Dickson and Lindsay Osco, who had five kills apiece while leading the team to a .395 hitting percentage in the game.
With Tech leading 20-19 after a kill by Talisa Kellogg broke the 19th tie of game four, the duo of Kellogg and Kaminskas recorded a key block to make the score 22-20, and the Jackets never looked back, winning the fourth game, 30-27. Tech hit .316, led by Kellogg, who hit .556 with six kills on nine attempts, while the Wahoos were hit just .209 in the game.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action next weekend when they host Duke and Wake Forest on Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday night, the Yellow Jackets will be participating in “Dig for the Cure” to raise awareness and funds to help eradicate the cause of breast cancer. All donations collected at the match will go directly to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information, contact Sally Polhamus in the Georgia Tech Volleyball office at 404.894.5450 or via email at sschulte@at.gtaa.gatech.edu.
