May 16, 2005
The Georgia Tech volleyball team had its 2005 recruiting class named the eighth-best in the nation by prepvolleyball.com. It marks the second time in the last three seasons that Tech has had its recruiting class ranked in the Top 20 as the 2002 class was ranked No. 19.
This year’s class consists of Laura DeMichelis, Michelle Kandell, Talisa Kellogg, Callie Miller and Allie Niekamp. Each one was ranked in the top 250 of prepvolleyball.com “Senior Aces” list and four of the five were listed in the top 60.
“We’re very proud of our incoming recruiting class and think that they are going to add a tremendous amount of capability and firepower to our program,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “We feel that our recruiting class’s ranking is an indication of the direction of our program and is certainly an exciting result as a staff to see that our hard work is paying off and that our program continues to climb. Our two assistants, Ben and Sally, have been an integral part of getting the attention and capturing the hearts of great recruits all over the country.”
DeMichelis is a 5-10 outside hitter who enrolled at Tech in January and went through practice with the Yellow Jackets this spring. She was the No. 57 ranked high school senior on prepvolleyball.com on the Senior Aces list and was a member of the USA Youth National Team in 2002 and 2003.
Kandell is a 5-6 libero who was a member of the USA Junior National team in 2004 and plays for the prestigious Mizuno Beach Volleyball Club. She helped her team to a third place finish in the Open Division at last year’s Junior Olympics, earning all-tournament honors for her performance.
Kellogg is a 6-1 outside hitter who has been listed by prepvolleybal.com as the No. 19 prospect on the Senior Aces list, as well as the No. 10 outside hitter in her class by the same organization. Kellogg was a member of the USA Junior National team in 2004 and also helped the Central Ohio Volleyball Club to a seventh place finish at the Junior Olympics in 2004.
Miller is a 6-1 middle hitter who was a member of the 2003 and 2004 USA Volleyball Junior National A-2 team and has been listed by prepvolleyball.com as the No. 37 prospect on the Senior Aces list.
Niekamp is a 6-0 setter who has been listed by prepvolleyball.com as the No. 46 prospect on the Senior Aces list as well as the No. 6 setter in her class. In addition, she has been a member of the USA Volleyball Junior National A-2 team in 2003 and 2004.
Player Pos. Ht. Hometown (High School) prepvolleyball.com Ranking Laura DeMichelis OH 5-10 Aurora, Colo. (Overland) No. 57 Michelle Kandell LIB Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Mira Costa) Senior Aces list Talisa Kellogg OH 6-1 Westerville, Ohio (St. Francis de Sales) No. 19 Callie Miller MH 6-1 Whitehouse, Ohio (Anthony Wayne) No. 37 Allie Niekamp S 6-0 Findlay, Ohio (Findlay) No. 46
Prepvolleyball.com Top 10 Recruiting Classes
1. Stanford
2. Penn State
3. Nebraska
4. Minnesota
5. California
6. Purdue
7. UCLA
8. Georgia Tech
9. Long Beach State
10. Florida
Comments on Georgia Tech recruiting class according to prepvolleyball.com
“The Ramblin Wreck has big holes to fill with the graduation of a substantial portion of its offense, which makes the signings of DeMichelis, Kellogg and Miller key to this class. DeMichelis and Kellogg are both high flyers who should thrive in Georgia Tech’s fast offense, while Miller, if healthy, should contend for the M2 position or even move right when setter Lindsey Laband is in the back row. Speaking of back row, Kandell is a vocal leader whose passing prowess should benefit the offense immediately. Niekamp is a highly regarded setter who will get a year to learn from Laband, an honorable mention All American in 2004.”
