Sept. 12, 2002
Off to its best start since 1996, the Georgia Tech volleyball team will face a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in the South Florida Adidas Invitational this weekend in Tampa, Fla.
Tech (7-1) will open the tournament on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 19 Michigan State (5-1). The Jackets will then face host South Florida (5-2) on Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by a 5 p.m. meeting against No. 24 Kansas State (4-1).
“This weekend will be another great tournament preparing us for our conference schedule,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “We’ll face three tough matches in nationally ranked Michigan State and Kansas State and also take on a good South Florida team. I expect every match to be competitive and they should prepare us for matches down the stretch of the season.”
The Jackets are coming off some impressive wins last week, including a victory over then nationally-ranked Louisville, and a fourth consecutive defeat of Georgia.
Over the past two weeks, Tech has been led by outside hitter Lynnette Moster (Liberty, Ind.) and middle blocker Alexandra Preiss (Berlin, Germany), each of whom has earned all-tournament honors this season. Moster, this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, leads the league in kills per game (5.11) and leads the team in digs per game (2.96) while Preiss currently leads the team in hitting percentage (.337) and blocks per game (1.36). Setter Kele Eveland (Grand Rapids, Mich.), who earned all-tournament honors last weekend, is atop the ACC in assists per game (13.19) and leads an offense which is ranked second in the league in hitting percentage (.294).
“Our team is excited and poised to play this weekend,” said Shymansky. “We know that we will need to execute at a high level to be successful and we feel we are ready.”
