Texas Tech Athletics
Duke University
Tech Volleyball Wins Carolina Classic
September 02, 2000 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2000
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Texas Tech head coach Jeff Nelson won his 11th tournament title as the Red Raiders won two key matches over host South Carolina and Duke to win the Carolina Classic and remain undefeated on the season.
It was a battle of the undefeated as Texas Tech entered the match with a 2-0 record while South Carolina entered the game with a 3-0 record after defeating Liberty earlier in the day. The Red Raiders (4-0) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in game-one but South Carolina came back and made it a seesaw match until senior Janelle Jones sealed the win on a kill to the Gamecock mid-court.
In game-two, Tech jumped out to a 9-3 lead but allowed South Carolina to pull with two after the Tech defense surrendered four straight points. With aggressive offense, the Red Raiders pulled away to take game-two 15-10. Sophomore Melissa McGehee racked up seven kills in the game along with six digs. McGhee finished the game with a team-high 14 kills and nine digs.
South Carolina took a 10-9 lead in game-three off a Tech reception error but the Red Raiders were able to grab a 15-11 win thanks to eight digs by setter Skydra Orzen and four kills by McGehee.
Texas Tech wrapped up their championship run in the Carolina Classic with a 15-7, 12-15, 15-13, 15-13 win over the Duke Blue Devils in the Saturday nightcap.
Tech ran away with game-one after the Red Raiders scored 8 straight points to start the game. Colleen Smith led the way with seven kills. Duke came alive in the second game as the Blue Devils outlasted the Red Raiders 15-10 in a game that lasted 37 minutes. Duke's Bryn Gallagher tallied nine kills, five digs and two blocks to lead the Blue Devil attack. It was more of the same in game-three as Tech jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and then allowed Duke to come back. Tech led 14-13 and sealed the win off a Duke error to go up 2-1 in the match. Tech rallied in the fourth game after trailing at one point by seven. Melissa McGehee, Ann Romjue and Janelle Jones led the Tech offensive attack with seven kills each.
On the night, Colleen Smith tallied 28 kills along with 10 digs. Melissa McGehee had another solid game with 18 kills while Ann Romjue finished with 17.
"Emotionally and mentally the game with South Carolina was the championship and it was very difficult for us to come back and play tonight, " said head coach Jeff Nelson. "We thought we might run away with Duke but they really played hard and gave us a great match. I am extremely pleased to get the win no matter how it came. This is a great start for us but we still have some things to work on before TCU on Tuesday."
Texas Tech's Ann Romjue and Skydra Orzen were named to the all-tournament team while Melissa McGehee was named Most Valuable Player.
