Aug. 23, 2012
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THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech volleyball team will open its 2012 season this weekend when it hosts the Courtyard Invitational at O’Keefe Gym. The tournament begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday as SMU faces Charleston Southern. The Yellow Jackets will then take on Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.
Live Coverage: All the matches will be available on GameTracker via www.RamblinWreck.com. All-Access subscribers can watch the Georgia Tech matches live by clicking the link above. Fans can listen to the Tech games on WREK 91.1 FM in Atlanta. Veteran Kurt Hoyt will be on the call joined by former Yellow Jacket Brittany Roderick.
Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Aug. 24
4:30 p.m. – SMU vs. Charleston Southern
7 p.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Aug. 25
10 a.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Charleston Southern
12 p.m. – Cal State Fullerton vs. SMU
4:30 p.m. – Cal State Fullerton vs. Charleston Southern
7 p.m. – Georgia Tech vs. SMU
Georgia Tech Volleyball
The Yellow Jackets return 10 letterwinners from last year’s 15-16 team that went 8-12 in ACC play and finished tied for seventh. Tech was picked sixth by the league’s coaches in the ACC preseason poll, while seniors Bailey Hunter and Monique Mead were named to the All-ACC preseason team.
Mead ranks second on the Georgia Tech single season all-time kills list, after tallying 588 in 2011 and sits in eighth place on the career kills list (1,459). Last season, she ranked second in the country and led the ACC with 5.03 kills per set and 5.70 points per set.
Tech also returns junior setter Kaleigh Colson. The Austin, Texas native collected 790 assists last season, averaging an impressive 9.88 assists per set.
The Yellow Jackets’ back line will be strong as last season’s starting libero Nicki Meyer returns for her senior campaign, along with defensive specialists Susan Carlson and Zoey Morton.
SMU
SMU will have just three returning starters from last season’s team that finished 2011 with a 15-17 overall record and 11-9 in Conference USA. The team will be led by senior Courtney Manning who tallied 274 kills, and a team high 184 blocks last season. Tech is 1-0 against the Mustangs, sweeping the three sets in the teams’ last meeting in 1997.
Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Fullerton went 13-16 last year, and returns three starters plus the libero. Kayla Neto led the team as a junior with 442 kills and was second with 366 digs. The Yellow Jackets are 1-0 against the Titans, and needed five sets to earn the win in 1997 at Titan Gym.
Charleston Southern
Charleston Southern returns four starters and the libero from a team which posted a 5-25 record last season and won just one Big South Conference match. Under new head coach Al Givens, the team will look to improve on last season’s performance. Senior Wynter Davis will lead the squad like she did last season with a .225 hitting percentage (202-for-466) and a team-high 92 blocks. Tech is 3-0 against the Buccaneers, going a perfect 9-0 in sets. The last time the teams met was in 1996.
