Aug 29, 2013
Game Notes | Tournament Central
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team opens its 2013 season this weekend when it hosts the Georgia Tech Invitational and welcomes Florida A&M, Chattanooga and the College of Charleston to O’Keefe Gym. The Jackets kick off the tournament at 10 a.m. Friday against Florida A&M and play again at 7 p.m. against Chattanooga.
Live Coverage
All the matches will be available on GameTracker and matches against Georgia Tech will also be available on All-Access via www.RamblinWreck.com. Fans can listen to the Tech games on WREK 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Veteran Kurt Hoyt will handle the play-by-play duties.
Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Aug. 30
10 a.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Florida A&M
12 p.m. – College of Charleston vs. Chattanooga
4:30 p.m. – Florida A&M vs. College of Charleston
7 p.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Chattanooga
Sunday, Sept. 1
10:30 a.m. – Chattanooga vs. Florida A&M
1 p.m. – Georgia Tech vs. College of Charleston
Home team listed first
Parking Information
Fans attending the 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 4:30 p.m. matches on Friday can park in the McCamish Lot. The O’Keefe Lot opens at 5 p.m.
Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets return six letterwinners from last year’s 19-12 team that went 10-10 in ACC play and finished sixth in the ACC. Tech was picked ninth by the league’s 15 head coaches in the ACC preseason poll, while sophomore Chanell Clark-Bibbs was named to the All-ACC preseason team.
In 2012, Clark-Bibbs earned ACC All-Freshman team honors after tallying 1.80 kills per set with a total of 117 on the season – fourth-best on the team. She posted the second-most solo blocks on the team with 10 and a 0.88 per game average.
Tech also returns senior setter Kaleigh Colson. The Austin, Texas native collected 10.53 assists per set (1,221 total assists), which ranked second in the ACC while her 10.53 assists per set (800 assists) in conference play set the pace.
The Yellow Jackets have a combined 22-5 record against this weekend’s opponents.
Florida A&M
The Florida A&M Lady Rattlers were picked as the preseason favorites in the southern division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll.
The Lady Rattlers posted an unblemished 10-0 conference mark and a 15-10 overall record in 2012. Look for Katherine Huanec, Yeisha Arcia and Andrea Soriano to handle the majority of the offensive output as they each hit over .200 a year ago.
Chattanooga
The Mocs finished 14-18 overall and 8-9 in the Southern Conference last season. Chattanooga returns three attackers to the court with junior Kasey Talley and sophomores Sarah Batterton and Lauren Gainer.
Talley returns after playing only a handful of sets in 2012, out part of the season with an injury. In the 45 sets played last season, the junior recorded 79 kills – averaging 1.76 per set – and totaled 26 blocks. Her blocking total ranked sixth on the team despite her time away from the court.
College of Charleston
College of Charleston is the unanimous vote to win the Colonial Athletic Association title in the 2013 CAA Preseason Poll.
Charleston returns all but one starter to a squad that won the SoCon Tournament in 2012 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over No. 23 Miami. The Cougars have conference championships, either the regular season or tournament, in each of the last 12 seasons for a streak that currently ranks second in all of NCAA Division I volleyball.
The Cougars rely on the senior leadership of the 2013 CAA Preseason Player of the Year Darcy Dorton who returns after leading the Cougars with 4.2 kills per set in 2012, a mark that ranked 41st in the nation.
For an inside look at the program, follow Georgia Tech volleyball on Twitter, @GTVolleyball, Instagram, GTVolleyball, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, Georgia Tech Volleyball.
