Sept. 23, 2004
Fresh off of three straight victories, the Georgia Tech volleyball team (5-5) begins the Atlantic Coast Conference portion of its schedule Friday when the team hosts North Carolina (6-6, 1-0 ACC) at 7 p.m. Friday and NC State (9-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Both matches will be broadcast by WREK Radio (91.1 FM) or over the internet at www.wrek.org. In addition, fans may follow the game on gametracker at www.ramblinwreck.com.
The Jackets and Tar Heels square off Friday in a match that will be televised by Fox Sports Net South on a tape-delay basis and is scheduled to be aired Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. In addition, several exciting promotions are scheduled as the Jackets are holding their annual “Jam the Gym” night and free t-shirts will be given to the first 500 fans.
Friday’s match marks the 40th meeting between the Tar Heels and the Jackets, with North Carolina holding the edge, 25-14. Tech defeated the Tar Heels in both of their meetings last year, and has won five of the past nine meetings. The Tar Heels are led by three-time all-ACC selection Molly Pyles, who is leading the team with 4.12 kills per game and 3.56 digs per game. In addition, two players on the team hail from Atlanta in middle blockers Katie Wright and Amy Beaver.
“Molly has been a fun player to watch for the last three years and as a senior, she has a lot of skills and a lot of great shots and she is a very important factor for their team,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “They also have a couple of Atlanta area natives who are coming back to compete and they always work really hard in our gym and I know they are excited for the opportunity to play here. No question we are going to have our hands full, but we always do against North Carolina as they are always a great match for us and a lot of fun to play..”
Saturday, the Yellow Jackets will host NC State at 7 p.m. in a match that marks the 36th meeting between the Wolfpack and Tech with the Jackets leading the series, 24-11. Tech defeated NC State in both of their meetings last year, and has won the last nine matches against the Wolfpack and also 24 of the last 26. After winning only seven matches a year ago, the Wolfpack have already improved upon that total and enter the match with nine wins.
“NC State is a much improved team this season and their program is getting stronger player for player,” said Shymansky. “They are showing better ball control and are a physical team this year. They are going to be tough for us and they are going to be a different style of volleyball than our team is used to seeing.”
The Yellow Jackets have been led by several players this year including Lynnette Moster, who leads the team with 4.59 kills per game and Lindsey Laband who leads the team with 13.90 assists per game. In addition, Jayme Gergen leads the team in blocks per game (1.53) and is also leading the team in hitting percentage (.397) while Marisa Aston leads the team in digs per game (4.12).
“In a lot of ways, we feel like our season is just starting,” said Shymansky. “We are 0-0 just like everybody else in the league and we really want to go after the title this year. We are picked to win the conference and we still believe that we can with a great effort so it’s very important to get off to a good start. I think playing at home in O’Keefe this weekend will be an advantage, especially against teams like North Carolina and NC State.”
