Georgia Tech volleyball prepares for ACC opener

Interview with Georgia Tech volleyball coach Michelle Collier:

By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor

Coming off of an impressive 3-0 victory over Kennesaw State last Tuesday and sporting a three-match winning streak, the Georgia Tech volleyball team opens ACC play this weekend with two contests. The Yellow Jackets (7-6, 0-0) will face Duke (8-3, 0-0) in Durham on Friday before heading to Louisville (8-4, 0-0) in a Sunday tilt.

“I think we’re ready for conference play,” first-year head coach Michelle Collier said. “We’ve learned a lot about the team (in non-conference) and what we can be.”

In the Kennesaw State win, Teegan Van Gunst had a team-high 12 kills along with 12 digs while Annika Van Gunst and Lauren Putz each had eight kills for the Yellow Jackets. Rebecca Martin had a team-high 26 assists and 15 digs.

“The win was very important and we’re focused on some things to stay consistent,” Collier said. “Towards the end of non-conference, we’ve played more consistent with our blocking, defense and serving. Its good gaining momentum.”

The Yellow Jackets also opened up its bench in the Kennesaw State contest, allowing the entire roster to gain playing experience. “We’re trying to get everyone some playing time,” Collier said. “We played a little bit of a 6-2 to see if there’s any point this season to be more offensively oriented. I trust everybody on the team and the potential to be on the court.”

The practices leading up to this weekend have focused on a critical aspect. “We’ve focused on our serving, especially errors,” Collier said. “We don’t have a problem with serving aggressively but (errors) are happening at the end of games or after we’ve made a good play. The players are being more aware of that.”

The players are looking forward to ACC play.

“We’re in a tough conference but we’ve faced some tough teams this year like South Carolina,” freshman middle blocker Sydney Wilson said. “Its exciting and we’re practicing hard getting ready for it.”

Duke holds a lifetime 43-19 matchup advantage over Georgia Tech and have won all six home matches this season. Sunday’s match marks the first ACC meeting between Georgia Tech and Louisville in any sport.