ATLANTA (April 10) – The Georgia Tech volleyball team closed out their spring season in impressive fashion by winning the Michigan State Invitational this past weekend in East Lansing, Michigan.
Tech breezed through the round robin portion of the tournament with wins over Michigan State, Indiana, and Michigan, then defeated Michigan State again in the championship match on the Spartans home floor. All three opponents were NCAA Tournament teams this past season.
After finishing first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, and being ranked #20 nationally in the NCAA final RPI rankings, Tech returns five starters to a team which finished the season at 25-8 and fell in the first-round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
Leading the way for Tech was freshman setter and ACC Rookie of the Year, Kele Eveland, plus the all-ACC hitting trio of Maja Pachale, Kyleen Bell, and Eida Mabry. According to Collier, it was not only the play of the usual stars for Tech that resulted in such an impressive showing, but the solid play of some of the other players that made the difference.
“At this tournament, our top hitters really stepped up and dominated,” said head coach Shelton Collier. “But I feel an important key was the consistent play of Amanda Hess, Keight Vincent, Geeske Banck, and Alexandra Preiss. They were all more consistent than in previous competitions, and this really helped our team chemistry and our overall team performance.”
“It was great to end our spring season with such a successful tournament,” said Collier. “This will give us a great deal of momentum as we look forward to a great season this fall.”
Collier will reassemble the team on July 14 to train for an international tour in Germany. Tech will play matches in the home towns of German players Pachale, Banck, and Preiss.
“Our trip to Germany will be an awesome experience for our team, and will jumpstart what will be an excellent fall season for our team,” said Collier.
