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Oct. 22, 2005
ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of Virginia volleyball team came within one point of snapping a nine-match losing streak to Georgia Tech Saturday evening (October 22) at O’Keefe Gymnasium, but the Yellow Jackets rallied from six points down in the fifth game and registered a 3-2 (30-20, 30-27, 17-30, 28-30, 22-20) victory over UVa. The loss snaps the Cavaliers’ school-record five-match Atlantic Coast Conference winning streak and Virginia falls to 13-7 overall and 8-3 in the ACC. Georgia Tech improves to 13-7 overall and 9-2 in the ACC.
The Cavaliers fought back from a two-game deficit with a 30-17 win in the third game and a 30-28 victory in the fourth game to force a deciding game five. In the dramatic fifth game, UVa led 8-7 and scored six of the next seven points to grab a 14-8 advantage and come within one point of the victory. Georgia Tech ran off seven consecutive points to turn a six-point deficit into a match-point situation of its own, 15-14. A kill by second-year outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) halted the Yellow Jackets’ run and tied the game at 15-15. The fifth game was tied five more times, including 20-20, before back-to-back kills by Georgia Tech’s Laura DeMichelis and Talisa Kellogg ended the drama.
Sarah Kirkwood led UVa with 22 kills and 17 digs for her second consecutive double-double. Kirkwood, who hit .388 in the match, also added four service aces and two blocks. First-year middle Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) set a new career high for kills for the second consecutive night as she tallied 18 kills while hitting .400. Davis also led all players with seven blocks. Second-year middle Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va./Evangel Christian School) also notched a new career high as she tallied 16 kills and added six blocks. Third-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Houston, Texas/Elkins) registered a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs and second-year outside hitter Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursula Academy) was the fifth Cavalier to reach double figures in kills with 10. Third-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) dished out 48 assists, while second-year libero Melissa Caldwell (Houston, Texas/Stratford) totaled 15 digs.
Kellogg led Georgia Tech with 35 kills while hitting .311. DeMichelis recorded 14 kills, while Ulrike Stegemann had 13 kills. Lindsey Laband posted 60 assists and 11 digs, while Jennifer Randall led all players with 24 digs.
Virginia set a season high with 83 kills in the match while hitting .277. Georgia Tech hit .217 with 75 kills and held an 85-65 edge in digs. UVa held slight 13-11 and 6-5 advantages in team blocks and service aces, respectively. UVa hurt itself with 17 service errors, while Georgia Tech had just two errors from the service line.
The Yellow Jackets hit .500 with 18 kills in winning the first game 30-27. Game two was tied at 13-13 and Georgia Tech slowly built its leads to 28-22 and held off a UVa rally to go up 2-0 in the match with a 30-27 win. The Cavaliers drilled 20 kills and hit .486 in winning the third game 30-17. In the fourth game, Virginia fell behind 10-4, but eventually tied the game at 24-24 on back-to-back kills by Sarah Kirkwood. A Kirkwood ace knotted the score at 28-28 and a Shelton kill gave UVa a one-point lead. A Georgia Tech hitting error gave UVa a 30-28 win and tied the match at 2-2. The Cavaliers hit only .171 in the first two games, but posted an impressive .410 hitting percentage in games three and four to get back into the match.
Virginia returns to action on Friday (October 28) when it hosts North Carolina at 7:00 p.m. in Memorial Gym.