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Oct. 4, 2003
ATLANTA, Ga. – The fifth-ranked Georgia Tech volleyball team hit an impressive .546 in posting a 3-0 (30-14, 30-11, 30-16) victory over Virginia Saturday night (October 4) before 1,190 spectators at O’Keefe Gymnasium. The Cavaliers fall to 17-3 overall and 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the loss, while Georgia Tech improves to 16-0 and 4-0 in the ACC.
Fourth-year middle Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) led UVa with eight kills, while fourth-year outside hitter Paige Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and third-year outside hitter Celeste Laborde (New Orleans, La./Academy of the Sacred Heart) both tallied four kills. UVa had a season-low 26 kills in the match and managed to hit only .087.
Fourth-year All-ACC libero Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) had 10 digs for her 16th double digit dig performance of the season. First-year setter Kathleen Branagh (Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo) had six digs and added 10 assists. First-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) handed out 13 assists.
The Yellow Jackets, who lead the nation in hitting percentage, committed only seven hitting errors in 97 attempts while putting down 60 kills for their impressive .546 percentage. Alexandra Preiss paced the Georgia Tech offense with a NCAA record tying 1.000 hitting percentage as she tallied 11 kills in as many attempts. Lauren Sauer had a match-high 14 kills and hit .684, while Lynnette Moster recorded 12 kills to go along with 14 digs. Setter Kele Eveland posted 44 assists and eight digs.
In addition to holding a 60-26 advantage in kills, Georgia Tech also won the defensive battle. The Yellow Jackets held a 55-26 edge in digs and an 8-2 margin in team blocks.
Virginia returns to action on Tuesday, October 7 when it opens a four-game homestand with a 7:00 p.m. match against North Carolina at Memorial Gym. Admission is free of charge.