Sept. 8, 2005
After posting a 1-2 record in the Four Points Sheraton Wildcat Invitaional last week, the Georgia Tech volleyball team begins its home season at the Georgia Tech Renaissance Invitational.this weekend in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The Yellow Jackets will face George Washington (2-2) Friday at 7:30 p.m., followed by matches Saturday against Long Island University (1-6) at 12 p.m. and Western Kentucky (5-1) at 8 p.m.
Tech opens the tournament against George Washington University Friday at 7:30 p.m. The match marks the first contest between the two teams and in between games two and three of the match, the jersey of former All-American setter Kele Eveland will be retired.
“We’re really looking forward to playing George Washington at home for our first home match this year,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “George Washington has a couple of really good outside hitters and they will be a challenge for us. In addition, it will be a special evening for Kele and her family and for Georgia Tech volleyball when her jersey is retired. Kele has had a huge impact on our program and is well deserving of this honor.”
On Saturday, the Jackets will face Long Island University, an NCAA Tournament participant in 2004, at 12 p.m, followed by an 8 p.m. contest against Western Kentucky in the final match of the tournament. Free “mini” Mikasa volleyballs will be given to the first 75 fans to the 8 p.m. match against Western Kentucky.
“Long Island is a team with a lot of new faces and a lot of foreign players and certainly players that will have a lot more experience than a typically young team might have,” said Shymansky. “They have an outstanding coach who knows how to win and they play very hard in their conference each year and do well. Our match against Western Kentucky is going to be a challenge for us. They have an outstanding setter in Caron Blotch and a middle hitter in Megan Argabright who is very good and it will take our best effort to beat them..”
To date, Tech has been led by a couple of players including freshmen Talisa Kellogg, who leads the team in kills per game (3.80), and Callie Miller, who leads the team in blocks per game (1.80). In addition, Jennifer Randall is leading the team in digs per game (3.20) while Lindsey Laband is leading the team and the Atlantic Coast Conference in assists per game (13.20).
“Our team is really excited to play in our first home matches this season this weekend,” said Shymansky. “We have a lot of new faces that our fans are going to enjoy watch playing. We receive such great support from our fans and our home crowd and it’s going to be extra important this early in the season. I thought we did a number of positive things last weekend and this weekend is a chance for us to improve in the areas that we need to work on.”
All three Georgia Tech matches can be heard on WREK radio on 91.1 FM and in streaming audio over the internet at www.wrek.org. In addition, fans may watch live stats of the matches by logging onto www.ramblinwreck.com.
Admission to all matches this weekend will be free.
Georgia Tech Renaissance Invitational Schedule
Friday, Sept. 9 Long Island University vs. George Washington 12 p.m. Long Island University vs. Western Kentucky 5 p.m. George Washington vs. Georgia Tech 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 10 Long Island University vs. Georgia Tech 12 p.m. Western Kentucky vs. George Washington 2 p.m. Western Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech 8 p.m.
