Oct. 14, 2009
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech Volleyball team (12-5, 6-1 ACC) will travel to the Commonwealth of Virginia for a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference matches this weekend. The Yellow Jackets will play at Virginia Tech (13-5, 3-4) on Friday night and then Virginia (7-11, 2-5) on Saturday. Both matches will be at 7 p.m.
“With six of our next eight matches away from O’Keefe it’s going to be very important for us to learn how to create our own energy and play better on the road,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “We are facing two very good teams this weekend who both play well at home.”
The Yellow Jackets are currently tied for first place in the ACC with Duke and No. 17 Florida State. At 6-1, Tech is off to its best start in ACC play since beginning the 2005 season with an identical 6-1 record. Tech is 7-4 all-time against the Hokies after each squad recorded a sweep on its home floor last season. Against the Cavaliers, the Yellow Jackets are 27-17 and have won three straight matches in the series.
This marks the Jackets’ second ACC road trip of the season after defeating No. 17 Florida State and losing to Miami a couple of weeks ago. All five of the sets Tech won that weekend came in extra points. Sophomore Bailey Hunter, who is third in the ACC in kills (3.44/set), has reached double-figures in all but one match this season, including 14 straight. Sophomore Asia Stawicka has been getting it done on both ends of the floor as she ranks fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.372) and sixth in blocks (1.08/set).
Junior Mary Ashley Tippins is first in the league and 18th nationally averaging 11.27 assists per set. Freshman Monique Mead leads all freshmen in the ACC and is sixth overall with 3.17 kills per set. Junior Jordan McCullers seventh as well with 3.85 digs per set.
Georgia Tech will then return home next weekend to host Wake Forest (Oct. 23) and Duke (Oct. 24). The Duke match will be the fourth annual “Dig For The Cure” event, a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. Parents, fans, businesses and coworkers may pledge amounts for every dig the Yellow Jackets (as a team) record against Duke, or they can make flat donations to the cause. For more information on “Dig For The Cure,” please visit www.RamblinWreck.com.
Check www.RamblinWreck.com after each match this weekend for complete recaps and stats.
