Sept. 8, 2007
ATLANTA – Five Wildcats posted double figures in kills, including Nicole Britenriker, who had a team-high 16, as Kentucky (9-2) stopped Georgia Tech (4-3), 3-1 (31-33, 31-29, 30-26, 30-22), Saturday night in the finale of the Regency Suites/Georgia Tech Classic.
With the loss, the Jackets finished third in the tournament while Kentucky earned runner-up honors to Arizona, who went 3-0 over the weekend.
Talisa Kellogg led all players with 20 kills while Chrissy DeMichelis added 16 for the Yellow Jackets. Ulrike Stegemann also posted double figures in kills, recording 13 against the Wildcats.
Kellogg had five digs, two block assists and a service ace on the night and, for her efforts, was named to the 2007 Regency Suites All-Tournament team.
“It was great to see our competitive attitude come out tonight and to watch our team fight hard for every point,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “My hat’s off to Kentucky for battling in our gym, which is such a tough environment for visiting teams to win in.
“I was very pleased with our outside hitter’s play in Kellogg and DeMichelis, and Ulli was once again unstoppable.
“We still need to continue to work on our first ball contact, both in serving and passing, to make sure that we can keep our offense fluid.”
Mary Ashley Tippins, making her fourth start of the season at setter, finished with 54 assists, five digs, three block assists and three kills on the night.
“Tippins did a great job of running our offense all weekend,” added Shymansky, “and we look for big things from her as we continue to progress.”
DeMichelis hit .545 with eight kills and posted a block assist and Stegemann added seven kills and four digs to lead the Jackets to a 33-31 win in game one. Tech fought off a pair of match points before getting back-to-back kills from Kellogg and Stegemann to finish off the frame. The Jackets, as a team, hit .333 with 24 kills while the Wildcats managed just a .255 hitting clip.
Trailing 29-25, the Jackets mounted a comeback with Stegemann serving in the second game, tying the match on a pair of kills by Mary Ashley Tippins and Callie Miller and two attack errors by Brooke Bartek. Tech couldn’t maintain the momentum however, committing back-to-back errors to end the game, which gave Kentucky a 31-29 win to tie the match at 1-1.
With the score tied 25-25 in game three, Kentucky capitalized on a pair of attack errors by the Jackets and held on for a 30-26 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Wildcats hit .387 and posted three total blocks in the frame, while Tech hit just .222 with one block.
Michelle Kandell handled the defense for the Jackets on the night, posting a team-best 12 digs, while Callie Miller led Tech’s net defense with five block assists.
Kentucky hit .333 and held the Jackets to just a .026 hitting clip in the fourth game to win the match with a 30-22 game victory. Tech posted 12 kills and committed 11 errors in the frame.
“It was good for us to see this level of play with Arizona and Kentucky because we’re going to have to execute flawlessly if we hope to beat Michigan on their home court next weekend,” Shymansky said.
The Jackets will travel to the Michigan Nike Invitational Sept. 14-15, meeting Temple and Utah Valley on Friday before concluding the tournament Saturday against the Wolverines.
