Sept. 13, 2008

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A 9-1 run late in the second set gave the Wake Forest volleyball team all the momentum it needed to sweep Delaware and win the 2008 Black & Gold Challenge with a perfect 3-0 record.

The Deacons won the first set 25-16 and came from behind to win the second set 25-22 and rolled to a 25-17 victory in the third set.

The win improves Wake Forest's record to 6-3 on the season and a perfect 6-0 at home as the Deacs also won the Deacon Invitational on Aug. 29-30. The loss drops the Blue Hens to 2-8 on the season.

Sophomore setter Kelsey Jones recorded 42 digs in the match and finished the weekend with 127 total assists. She also averaged better than two digs per set en route to being named the tournament's MVP.

"Kelsey did a great job distributing the ball this weekend," said head coach Heather Kahl Holmes. "She also read the block well and knew who to get the ball to and ran the offensive very effectively. She did well defensively too, averaging more than two digs per set."

Freshman Kadija Fornah led the Deacons in kills in all three matches, including a season-high 16 against Delaware. She ended the tournament with 38 kills and was named to All-Tournament team.

"I think the stats speak for themselves," said Kahl Holmes when asked about Fornah's plays this weekend. "We went to her when we needed a kill and she put the ball away in key situations."

The Deacons played very well defensively all weekend, recording 26 total blocks and holding their opponents to just a .109 hitting percentage.

A key part of the defense for Wake was sophomore libero Megan Thornberry who recorded double-digit kills in all three matches and finished the weekend with a team-high 54 digs.

The teams traded mini runs at the beginning of the first set and found themselves tied at 12-12 midway through. Fornah then recorded back-to-back kills to spark a 13-4 Deacon run to end the set. Lauren McIntyre also had a service ace a pair of kills during the run. The Deacons won the first set 25-16.

The second set was definitely the key set in the match. Delaware opened the set with an early 6-4 lead but Wake responded with a 9-3 of its own, keyed by kills from Fornah, Kristen White, Natalie Mullikin and Ashley Homitz.

With Wake leading 13-9, the Blue Hens got a pair of service aces from Greta Gibboney and a pair of errors from the Deacs to spark a 12-3 run that give Delaware a commanding 21-16 lead.

A kill by Fornah stopped the run and sent freshman Cambrey Oehler to the service line, who didn't give up the serve until the Deacons had scored seven straight points. Delaware had four errors during the run and McIntyre added a kill and a block assist.

The momentum had clearly swung the way of the Deacs and fittingly, they closed out the set on a Delaware hitting error.

Wake scored the first three points of the third set and never looked back, winning the third set 25-17. The Blue Hens pulled to within one at 7-6 but Wake then went on an 11-4 run to remove all doubt.

The Deacons held Delaware to just .071 hitting for the match and Wake recorded eight total blocks, led by four block assists from Mullikin.

After a disappointing weekend at the Adidas Classic last weekend, Wake needed to rebound this weekend and Kahl Holmes knew that.

"We talked about it a lot as a team this week," said Kahl Holmes. "This weekend, we decided to clean up our side of the net and not worry about what they were doing on the other side. We knew we needed to play better defense and stay in the points longer. That's what we worked on this week in practice and I think it showed in the last three matches."

The Deacons will wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule next weekend at the Appalachian State Tournament. Wake will play Appalachian State on Friday night and Charlotte and North Carolina A&T on Saturday.