Aug. 30, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM - Natalie Mullikin had ten kills and eight block assists to lead the Wake Forest volleyball team to the Deacon Invitational title Saturday evening. The Deacons fought off a feisty Winthrop team in the championship match to pull out a 3-1 victory. Both teams came into the game with unblemished 2-0 records but it was the Wake Forest (3-0) defense that was the difference in the match, recording 11 total blocks compared to just four for Winthrop (2-1). Wake Forest picked up the win 25-17, 25-12, 22-25, 25-16. Mullikin's 10 kills and eight block assists were both team-highs. She ended the tournament with 26 kills and an impressive .388 hitting percentage en route to being named the tournament's MVP. Sophomore Megan Thornberry played solid defense all weekend, recording a team-high 45 digs and had 32 service receptions without an error over the three matches. She was rewarded for her efforts by being named to the All-Tournament Team. The Deacs featured a balanced offensive attack against Winthrop, with four players recording eight or more kills. Senior Ashley Homitz hit .421 with nine kills and just one error in 19 attempts. She also added five block assists. Sophomores Lauren McIntyre and Kristen White had eight kills each while fellow sophomore Kelsey Jones recorded her 15th career double-double, dishing out 36 assists and recording 15 digs. Shannon Sitzmann, the 2007 Big South Player of the Year, had 16 kills, five digs and a pair of service aces to lead the Eagles. Kellie Sellers led the Eagle defense with 13 digs and also recorded seven kills. Both Sitzmann and Sellers were named to the All-Tournament Team. With the score 4-3 in favor of the Deacons in the first set, McIntyre recorded back-to-back kills to ignite a 13-6 run that put Wake in front 17-9. McIntyre also had two more kills during the run and Mullikin teamed up with Jones to record a pair of block assists. The point of the tournament also occurred during the Deacs run as junior Abby Miller recorded a number of spectacular digs ultimately setting up freshman Cambrey Oehler for one of her six kills on the night. Winthrop responded with an 8-4 run of their own to pull within four a 21-17 but another kill by McIntyre and a kill by freshman Kadija Fornah helped the Deacs score the next four points to win the set 25-17. McIntyre finished the first set with a total of six kills. The Deacs carried the momentum into the second set where they pulled off a 12-0 run to take a commanding 18-5 lead. Thornberry served for 11 of those points and Mullikin added three kills. Mullikin had five kills on five attempts in the second set, leading Wake to a 25-12 victory. The third set started out even but with the Deacs up 7-6, Winthrop got a kill from Sitzmann to start a 9-3 run, opening up a 15-10 lead. Wake Forest then chipped away at the lead and pulled to within one at 18-17 but a couple of kills from Kaley Viola righted the right the ship for the Eagles and they went on to pull out a 25-22 victory. Sitzmann had seven kills and three digs in the set. The Deacs looked determined to not let the match make it to a fifth set as they scored 14 of the first 18 points in the fourth set to open a 14-4 lead. The Wake Forest defense forced 12 Winthrop hitting errors in the set compared to just 10 kills. The Deacs also recorded five total blocks in the fourth set, including a huge block assist by the two team captains, Mullikin and Homitz to finish off the match 25-16. For the match, Wake Forest had a hitting percentage of just .161 but it held Winthrop to a -.050 mark. The Deacs also posted nine more digs and two more service aces than the Eagles. The tournament title was the sixth for the Deacons in the 13-year history of the Deacon Invitational. This is also the first time Wake has started 3-0 since 2004. In the third place match, Davidson defeated Norfolk State 3-0 to take third place. The Deacons will enjoy the victory before getting back to action next weekend at the Adidas Classic hosted by Indiana. The Deacs will play Louisville at 10:30 a.m. and Indiana at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5. They will then play Valparaiso on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 12:30 p.m. All-Tournament Team
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