Tigers To Face Georgia Tech In Mid-Week Volleyball Action

Oct. 17, 2005

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team (9-7, 4-4 ACC) will travel to Atlanta, GA on Oct. 18 for a mid-week contest against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tuesday’s match will be televised on Fox Sports South (on tape delay) and is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM at the O’Keefe Gymnasium. It will be the 45th meeting between the two schools with the Tigers holding a 28-16 all-time advantage. The series score is tied at nine wins apiece in matches played on Georgia Tech’s home court, with Clemson’s last victory in Atlanta coming during the 1999 season. The teams split the two contests played last year. The Yellow Jackets claimed a 3-1 win during the regular season in Clemson, but the Tigers avenged the loss with a victory by the same score to knock out number-one seeded Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. It was the Yellow Jacket’s only loss against a conference opponent for the 2004 season.

The Tigers are led up front by outside hitters Jeannette Abbott and Brittany Ross. Ross has come on as of late, posting 77 of her 241 total kills in Clemson’s last four contests. She set a career high with 26 kills against N.C. State on Oct. 14 and has tallied at least 20 kills in three of the last four matches. Abbott continues to lead the team with 272 total kills. Setter Courtney Lawrence recorded her 600th assist of the season against the Tar Heels on Oct. 15, and libero Anna Vallinch raised her season dig total to 280 after collecting 37 defensive saves last weekend. Danielle Hepburn boasts a team-high 71 total blocks and Laura Boozer is hitting a team-best .348.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have won six of their last seven matches for a 10-7 overall record and a 6-2 mark in ACC play. Talisa Kellogg leads the team with 211 kills while Jennifer Randall has a team-best 255 defensive saves. Three other Yellow Jackets have triple-figure kill totals as Laura DeMichelis, Ulrike Stegemann and Callie Miller have tallied 179, 169, and 142 kills, respectively. Miller has also posted 63 total blocks for a 1.07 block per game average, while Nikki Kaminskas leads the squad with 64 total blocks and a 1.28 block per game mark. Lindsey Laband has collected 653 set assists for Georgia Tech, averaging 11.46 per game.