Nov. 10, 2005
Georgia Tech volleyball team (13-11, 9-6 ACC) closes out its 2005 home conference schedule with its final ACC matches at home in O’Keefe as the Yellow Jackets will face NC State (7-17, 1-15 ACC) Friday followed by a meeting against North Carolina (19-7, 14-2 ACC) Saturday.
“Our final home weekend this year is a big weekend for us, not only because of the impact that it has on our potential to play post season but also because it’s the last chance for our seniors to play in front of our home crowd,” said head coach Bond Shymansky.
Friday at 7 p.m. the Jackets will take on the Wolfpack. The meeting with NC State marks the 39th time the two teams have met, with the Yellow Jackets holding the edge, 27-11. Tech has won the last 12 meetings against NC State, including a 3-1 win earlier this season by the scores of 30-19, 30-23, 18-30, 30-28. As a team, Tech hit .261 and were led by Talisa Kellogg, who had 19 kills and hit .308, Laura DeMichelis who had 18 kills a hit .220 and Ulrike Stegemann who posted 17 kills and hit .286. Lindsey Laband dished out 63 assists and Jennifer Randall had a match-high 18 digs.
“NC State will be a tough battle for us,” said Shymansky. “They’ve come on a lot stronger this year behind the tremendous play from their two middles who do a fantastic job. They play fast, high and powerful volleyball as middle attackers and will be a lot for us to handle.”
On Saturday at 7 p.m., the Jackets will turn their attention to North Carolina, who stands in second place in the ACC standings. The match also signifies Jam the Gym night in which free t-shirts will be given out to the first 200 fans who enter the door. The contest with the Tar Heels marks the 43rd meeting between the two schools, with North Carolina leading the series, 26-16. Earlier this season, the Tar Heels swept the Yellow Jackets in three games, 30-23, 30-28, 30-10. In that match, Tech’s offense struggled as North Carolina held the Jackets to a .014 hitting percentage and not allowing a single Yellow Jacket to end the match with double-figure kills.
“We are looking forward to our rematch against North Carolina,” said Shymansky. “Carolina has been pushing strong in the second half of the season and our team is anxious to get another shot to compete harder than they did the first time we played at North Carolina.”
Saturday’s match will also mark the final home match for seniors Lindsey Laband, Katie Mohs and Jennifer Randall.
“Each player has brought something different in terms of the impact they’ve had on our program,” said Shymansky. “Randall has competed all four years and been an integral part of our ball control and defense. Katie has brought an awful lot of personality and work ethic to our gym and has been an absolute delight to coach and to have as a teammate and Lindsey Laband has dedicated herself and really shown strong leadership and tough personal perseverance to be the player that she is today.”
