Jackets cruise in Regency

The Jackets swept all three opponents this weekend en route to the Regency Suites Midtown Invitational Championship. The team improved their overall record to 8-2 and 6-1 at home by beating South Florida (30-25, 30-21, 30-17), Stetson (30-20, 30-24, 30-28) and Sam Houston State (30-21, 31-29, 30-23). These were the final tune-ups before the ACC season begins this weekend. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Gray led the team with 25 kills.

"We have a very strong attack; we don't just have two or three key hitters. We have a full front row that will hit you hard. For a team that plays hard, it's hard for our opponents to key on just one player," Gray said.

Gray was not the only one with a strong performance over the weekend. Sophomore Talisa Kellogg added 30 kills, five blocks and three digs to her season statistics. Kellogg became only the third person in the history of Tech volleyball to record a perfect hitting percentage in a game with 10 or more attack attempts against Stetson.

"Talisa Kellogg set another record this weekend. We have awesome all-around players, and it's really exciting. Although last year was a struggle at times, this year is going to be really exciting," Gray said.

Kellogg was awarded the ACC Volleyball Player of the Week, and Regency Suites Midtown Invitational MVP. The sophomore's play was anything but immature. She averaged 4.29 kills per game over the weekend, increasing her season average to 3.35 per game. She led the team in kills during her rookie season and is currently leading the team with 114.

On Friday, the Jackets routed South Florida 3-0. Gray led the offense on the night with a total of 11 kills and a 0.529 hitting percentage.

Pacing the Jackets' offense was sophomore Allie Niekamp, who contributed 45 assists and eight digs against the Bulls.

"Our coaches scouted them, and knew what to expect coming into the game; that is just about us executing our scouting report. We had certain hitters that we wanted to key on, and attacked them on the serve or on the net with a block," Gray said.

"Our defense was amazing. The main thing about the past weekend was executing the scramble plays that will keep you in the game. Sooner or later you'll tire them out, and that's what we did," Gray said.

Junior Nikki Kaminskas led the Jackets in the first game Saturday evening. Kaminskas, a middle hitter, had a 0.611 hitting percentage against Stetson and led the Jackets with 12 kills. As a team, the Jackets had an impressive 0.516 hitting percentage as they swept the Hatters 3-0.

"We came in this weekend knowing that we had to pass, serve and do the basics really well. Everyone contributed, even our freshman. I believe that we have a couple of all-ACC players," said Gray.

Tech ousted Sam Houston State in the finale on Saturday night with a 3-0 victory. Ulrike Stegemann led the Jackets with 12 kills and six digs.

"When you talk about firing on all cylinders, it's no joke. We have a very strong attack; we don't just have two or three key hitters. We have a full front row that will hit you hard. For a team that plays hard, it's hard for our opponents to key on just one player. We know how to hit the ball away from our opponents," Gray said.

Tech opens up ACC conference play today as they travel to Winston Salem to take on Wake Forest at 7p.m. The road trip continues tomorrow night when they travel to Durham to take on Duke at 7p.m.