Nov. 21, 2003

Final Stats | 2003 ACC Women's Volleyball Tournament

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the Florida State Seminoles 3-1 (30-23, 29-31, 30-19, 30-27) Friday afternoon at the Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in the quarterfinals of the 2003 ACC Volleyball Championship.

Georgia Tech won game one, 30-23 behind a clutch offensive hitting performance from Jayme Gergen and Alexandra Preiss, who hit .800 and .444, respectively. The game was closely contested early with both teams tied at 8-8, but the Yellow Jackets went on a 7-1 run to break the game open and take a commanding 15-9 lead. The Seminoles could not cut into the deficit as Georgia Tech took the first game.

In game two, Florida State opened with a 2-0 advantage. With the Seminoles still leading by two at 6-4, Georgia Tech rallied with a blistering 7-1 run for its first lead in the game by a score of 11-7. After a Florida State timeout, the Seminoles would tie the score at 11 but the Yellow Jackets would quickly strike to regain the lead at 15-14. FSU eventually took a 20-19 lead and would increase their margin to four at 27-23. Georgia Tech would counter once more to tie the score at 28 a piece, but it was not enough as the Seminoles took game two 31-29. ACC Freshman of the Year Cassie McLaughlin led the Seminoles with four kills.

The Yellow Jackets broke out on top in the early stages of game three leading by as many as nine points. After a Florida State timeout, the Seminoles went on a 3-0 run to cut the Tech lead to 15-9, but the Jackets had an answer going on a run of their own to increase their to lead to ten at 20-10. The Noles had no answer for the offensive attack of the Yellow Jackets, including junior Lauren Sauer who posted five kills, in the 30-19 win.

Game four was closely contested early on as both teams went on a pair of 4-0 runs to remain neck-and-neck. Georgia Tech was in command for most of the match until the Seminoles earned their first lead of the game at 18-17. The lead was short lasting as the Yellow Jackets roared back to take the lead for good at 27-26 and win the fourth game 30-27.

Sauer led the Yellow Jacket offense with a .349 hitting percentage posting 20 kills on 43 opportunities. With the win, Georgia Tech runs their season record to 29-1 and will advance to the semifinal round to face the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday. The Seminoles drop to 16-16 on the season.