Oct. 23, 2004
Marisa Aston had a season high 27 digs and Lauren Sauer posted a season high 24 kills as the Georgia Tech volleyball team defeated North Carolina, 3-1 (30-22, 30-24, 23-30, 30-26) Saturday night. With the win, the Yellow Jackets have now won 14 straight matches, improving to 16-5, 10-0 ACC while the Tar Heels fall to 12-11, 7-4 ACC.
“Tonight was by far the best defensive effort our whole team has ever put forth and it allowed us to resist the tide of momentum when it shifted in game three,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “We often praise our front row attackers, but tonight was all about Marisa Aston, Jennifer Randall, Lynnette Moster and Abby Showers. It’s tough to play inspired on the road because the energy in the gym is focused on your opponent, but our team was steadfast in their determination. Carolina’s outside hitters keep improving and played very well tonight and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC Tournament. Our outside hitting combination, led by Lauren Sauer turned up the intensity when it counted most and finished the match.”
The difference in the match was defense, as the Jackets posted a season-high 104 digs in the match as a team. In addition to Aston, Lynnette Moster had a season high 19 digs, followed by Randall who had 15, Laband who had 14, and Abby Showers and Lindsey Gray who each had seven.
At the net, Tech posted 11 total blocks as Jayme Gergen had six blocks, followed by Sauer who had five and Moster who had three.
Offensively, the Jackets hit only .231 in the match, but received double kill efforts from Moster who had 16 and Jayme Gergen and Laura Kuhn who each recorded 10 kills. Gergen had a match high .417 percentage, not recording an error on the night, while Ulrike Stegemann had seven kills and hit .333. Laband ran the offense, recording 62 assists.
The Tar Heels were led by Dani Nyenhuis who had 29 kills and Caroline deRoeck who had 26 digs.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Friday, Oct. 29 when they host Florida State in an ACC contest at 7 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
