Sept. 12, 2008

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WINSTON-SALEM - The Wake Forest volleyball team opened the Black & Gold Invitational with a thrilling five-set victory over Western Michigan Friday evening in Reynolds Gym.

The Deacons dropped the first set 22-25 but rebounded to win the second and third sets 25-22 and 25-20. After the Broncos won the fourth set 25-16, the Deacs took control and won the final set 15-8. The five-set match was the first of the year for both teams.

The win snapped the Deacon's three-match losing streak and improves their record to 4-3 overall. The loss was the first of the year for Western Michigan, as it is now 5-1.

Four different Demon Deacons recorded double-digit kills led by freshman Kadija Fornah's season-high 14. Natalie Mullikin added 13 kills while hitting a solid .375. Sophomores Lauren McIntyre and Kristen White chipped in with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

Defensively, libero Megan Thornberry had a tremendous night, matching her career-high with 29 digs. She also added a pair of service aces. Sophomore setter Kelsey Jones registered her fourth double-double of the season with 13 digs and a season-high 53 assists.

Junior Abby Miller also played well in the back row, recording a season-high 19 digs, just one off her career-high.

Western Michigan had three players with double-digit kills. Michelle Moore posted a match-high 18 kills and nine digs. Katie Eberling chipped in with 16 kills and Allyson Doyle added 15.

The Broncos took a 13-9 lead midway through the first set but four straight kills by Fornah mixed in with a pair of service errors by WMU put the Deacons ahead 17-16. With the score tied at 20-20, Moore pounded a pair of kills on back-to-back points to spark a 5-2 run that gave the Broncos the first set 25-22. Fornah had a team-high five kills in the set.

The Deacons took control of the second set right from the start, scoring eight of the first ten points to snag an early 8-2 lead. WMU closed to 9-6 but the Deacons pushed the lead out to as many as six on a couple of occasions. A late Bronco run was stopped by Mullikin's seventh kill of the set to give the Deacs the 25-22 victory.

Much like the second set, the Deacons raced out to an early 15-9 lead, backed by three kills from Mullikin. Wake held that six-point lead through out the rest of the set and cruised to an easy 25-20 victory. The Deacs held WMU to a -.022 hitting percentage and registered three total blocks in the set.

Wake looked to have the momentum heading in the fourth set but the Broncos quickly snatched the momentum back by scoring ten of the first 14 points of the set. Wake pulled to within two at 13-11 but a 6-0 run, sparked by a kill from Moore, removed any doubt. The Broncos breezed to a 25-16 win, setting up a fifth set.

On the heels of a pair of service aces and strong defense by Thornberry, the Deacons opened up an 8-2 lead and would never look back in the deciding set. McIntyre also had a good set, recording three kills on four attempts. The Deacons would roll to a 15-8 victory.

Wake finished with seven total blocks and had a respectable hitting percentage of .216 for the match.

In the first match of the tournament, East Carolina got 13 kills from Amanda Lutzow to cruise to a three-set victory over Delaware.

The Deacons will continue the Black & Gold Challenge on Saturday as they will face East Carolina at 12:30 p.m. and Delaware at 7 p.m.