Sept. 16, 2004
The Georgia Tech volleyball team heads to Oxford, Ohio, this weekend to participate in the Miami RedHawk Invitational in its final tune-up prior to the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference season.
The Yellow Jackets (2-5) begin the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. ET against host Miami University Tech will then conclude the tournament on Saturday, facing Middle Tennessee State at 9:30 a.m. and IPFW at 4 p.m. ET.
The tournament this weekend will be a homecoming of sorts, as Abby Showers, Laura Kuhn and Lynnette Moster all hail from areas which are close to the campus of Miami University.
“This weekend should be a great homecoming for several of our players from the midwest, but particularly for Lynnette, who grew up on a farm about 20 minutes from Oxford,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “She’s really excited to be there and compete in front of her home crowd and to have a lot of family and friends there to support her will be really neat.”
Friday’s match against Miami University (2-4) marks the third time the two teams have met, a series which the Jackets lead 2-0. In 2000, their last matchup, the Yellow Jackets won in three games.
“Miami has played some really tough teams this season and they are battling the same way we are and are looking for victories just like we are,” said Shymansky. “I’m sure each team will be out there scrapping and trying to win.”
On Saturday, Middle Tennessee State (2-5) and Tech will face one another for the second time in school history. In their only previous meeting, which occurred in 1990, the Jackets won 3-0.
“Middle Tennessee State has a new coach and you can see that there is a new direction in their program and their players are working really hard this season and will be a good match for us,” said Shymansky.
In its final match of the tournament, the Jackets will take on IPFW (5-2), a team which Georgia Tech has never faced.
“IPFW is a really strong team and certainly they have two great outside hitters that have been a key to their success this season,” said Shymansky. “They’ve played a great schedule and have come up just short in a couple of big occasions, but they will be a tough match for us this weekend.”
“We feel like our offense is finally starting to click now and that’s something that we’ve been able to rely on,” said Shymansky. “Our biggest focus now is to work on our block and our defense is getting stronger and more consistent. We are pleased with our passing and transition game, but now we’ve really got to turn up our intensity on defense.”
