Kellogg-Stegemann lead young volleyball team

Devotion and hard work have led to success for junior Ulrike Stegemann and sophomore Talisa Kellogg. Having both been named to the coaches preseason All-ACC team, they are certainly set to have an amazing season.

Enrolled in an athletic boarding school since age nine, volleyball has been a big part of Ulrike Stegemann's life. Having been able to focus so much attention on her athletic skills from such a young age, it was quite easy for Stegemann to adjust to the student-athlete role at Tech.

"The only difference between this and my [high] school are the practices. Here, we practice for three hours. At home, we practiced for two and a half," Stegemann said.

Stegemann's biggest adjustment was coming to the United States from Germany during her freshman year. "It was hard speaking English all the time, but now it's no problem. Everyone was really nice about helping me out with everything."

The daughter of CBS sports analyst and former Ohio State basketball star Clark Kellogg, it is no surprise that Talisa Kellogg has embraced sports so enthusiastically. Since birth, Kellogg has been surrounded by the professional sports world, and it has driven her to be a better player.

"His passion for sports has definitely transferred down to me. I absolutely love everything about sports," Kellogg said.

Kellogg, a four-year letterman and the MVP for her high school team, has had difficulty adjusting to the balance of studies and practices.

"I find myself working much harder at school," Kellogg said.

Even with the stringent academics that Tech requires, both players agree that playing volleyball is much more exciting and rewarding at the college level.

"The girls really want to play the game. There's no attitude from anyone," Stegemann said.

The quality of the players on the team and the opponents have increased to make the game more challenging.

"The game is so much faster. It's intense," Kellogg said.

In 2005, Kellogg and Stegemann led the Jackets offensively with arecord numbers of kills each; Kellogg with 457 and Stegemann with 336. Kellogg also posted 188 digs, fifth on the team. Even with last year's individual success, both worked hard to improve their game for this season.

"I've been working on my passing. I really want to play back row," Stegemann said.

Since coming to Tech, Stegemann has had a stellar volleyball career. She earned second-team All-ACC honors in 2005 and was named to the All-ACC Freshman team in 2004. In 2005, she averaged 2.92 kills per game, and hit .270. Stegemann has also excelled academically, being named to the Academic All-District Third Team and the ACC Volleyball Academic Team.

Kellogg has also had a spectacular career. Before she even began playing for Tech, Kellogg started the season as the No. 19 recruit on prepvolleyball.com senior aces list. She recorded double figures in 25 matches of the 2005 season, and set a school record for kills in a season by a freshman. After ending the season with an average of 4.04 kills per game, Kellogg was named to the All-ACC Freshman team in 2005.

Despite individual accolades that the ladies have received during their career at Tech, they are more concerned with how the team is playing overall.

"It's pretty cool to be given a preseason rank, but all it really does is give us something to work towards. When we finally achieve it, that's when we can celebrate," Kellogg said.

Taking the season one game at a time, Kellogg and Stegemann are very optimistic about the training they have had thus far.

"We've always been a hitting team. Now we're trying to improve the speed of the offense. Last year we were weak at blocking. We have really improved our game since last year, " Stegemann said.

"Our practices are a little different this year. We are more focused on actual play situations, which are really helping our defense out," Kellogg said.

Both players are also very excited about the talent in this year's freshman class. "It's the best freshman class. They are really adapting to what we need them to do," Stegemann said.

"They've really come in strong. Especially Erin [Birmingham]. She has stepped up as a middle hitter, and done an amazing job," Kellogg said.

Kellogg also pointed out that the team has also done a lot of bonding activities to increase the cohesion on the court, and especially to welcome the new players.

"We went on a three day rafting trip, and have had a lot of dinners and done fun stuff together outside of practice."

"We're going to be really good this year, and we need all the support we can get," Stegemann said.

Playing a game that doesn't receive as much attention as others, these ladies stress need for support from the student body and the other fans.

"The bigger the crowd is, the better it is to play," Kellogg said.

The Jackets travel to Lexington, KY this weekend for the University of Kentucky Volleyball Tournament.

They face Villanova today at 11:00 a.m. and Toledo at 6:00 p.m. The team will face the University of Kentucky tomorrow at 4 p.m.