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Virginia Volleyball Snaps Streak With 3-2 Win Over Georgia Tech
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Oct. 21, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – First-year outside hitter Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas) smashed a career-high 25 kills to help lead the Virginia volleyball team to a 3-2 (30-22, 24-30, 30-22, 27-30, 15-12) victory over Georgia Tech Saturday (Oct. 21). The win at Memorial Gym before a boisterous crown of 625, snapped UVa’s 11-match losing streak to the Yellow Jackets. With the victory, the Cavaliers conclude their four-match homestand with a 3-1 record and improve to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Georgia Tech falls to 11-10 overall and 3-8 in the ACC.
Dickson led all players with 25 kills while surpassing her former career-best of 21 kills. She also set a career-high with 29 points. Dickson hit a team-high .380 in the match and also added five digs, two blocks and a team-best three service aces. Fourth-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Houston, Texas) tallied 18 kills while hitting .293 and also totaled four blocks and four digs. Third-year outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla.) and third-year middle Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va.) both amassed 15 kills. Kirkwood, who hit .342 in the match with two assists and two service aces, added 13 kills for her team-leading ninth double-double of the season. In addition to her 15 kills, Oakes had five blocks and a pair of digs. Second-year middle Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas) added eight kills, four blocks and two assists.
Fourth-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla.) handed out a season-high 71 assists (14.2 per game) and added five digs, four kills and two blocks. Third-year libero Melissa Caldwell (Houston, Texas) led UVa’s defensive effort with 14 digs. Third-year defensive specialist Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 11 digs.
Talisha Kellogg led Georgia Tech with 14 kills and five blocks, while Ulrike Stegemann had 12 kills and hit .320. Callie Miller posted a .476 hitting percentage with 11 kills. Nikki Kaminskas led all players with eight blocks. Setter Allie Niekamp had 47 assists and 17 digs, while Abby Showers led all players with 21 digs.
The Cavaliers slammed a season-high 85 kills while posting a .291 hitting percentage. Georgia Tech hit .244 with 64 kills in the match. Both teams tallied six service aces, while Yellow Jackets held a 13-10 advantage in team blocks and a 73-62 edge in digs.
Virginia tallied 20 kills while hitting .298 in a 30-22 win in the first game. Dickson led the way with five kills, while Sarah Kirkwood and Oakes both had four. Georgia Tech evened the match at 1-1 with a 30-24 win in the second game. The Yellow Jackets hit .444 in the contest to overcome six kills by Dickson and five by Osco. The Cavaliers rolled to a 30-22 win in the third frame as they hit .395 with 21 kills. Dickson and Osco again led the `Hoos with five kills apiece. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 30-27 win in the fourth game to knot the contest at 2-2. Georgia Tech had one more kill (18-17) and two more blocks (5-3) than UVa in the fourth game. Dickson had six kills on nine swings in game four. In the fifth and deciding game, Virginia jumped out to an 8-3 lead only to see the Yellow Jackets tie the game at 9-9. Back-to-back kills by Sarah Kirkwood and Dickson gave UVa the lead for good, 11-9. Georgia Tech scored the next point, but Dickson answered a kill to make the score 12-9. Dickson’s 25th kill of the match closed out the fifth game, 15-12, and gave UVa the victory.
Virginia returns to action on Fri (Oct. 27) when it plays North Carolina at 7:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.