Oct. 17, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Wake Forest volleyball team grabbed the momentum in the second set but couldn't hold it as ACC-leader Virginia Tech downed the Deacons 3-1 Friday evening at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies won the key ACC affair 25-23, 15-25, 25-21 and 25-19. The win keeps Virginia Tech ahead of the pack in the ACC with a 7-1 conference mark and a 16-3 record overall. The loss was the third straight for the Deacons, who fall to 4-4 in the conference and 13-7 overall. Graduate student Natalie Mullikin notched a match-high 17 kills and hit a solid .382 on night. She also added a total of four blocks. Sophomore setter Kelsey Jones recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 44 assists and 13 digs. Fellow sophomore Lauren McIntyre also had a good night at the night, posting five kills to go along with her match-high six total blocks. Senior Ashley Homitz chipped in with seven kills and five total blocks. Defensively, sophomore Megan Thornberry recorded a match-high 21 digs and junior Abby Miller also played well in the back row, posting 17 digs. The Hokies got a double-double from Justine Record as she notched 11 kills and 14 digs. Kirsty Blue added 14 kills for the Hokies while Kristen Cunningham and Felicia Willoughby each chipped in with 10 kills. Setter Erin Leaser dished out 48 assists while Jill Gergen collected 19 digs. The Deacons have now dropped its last 11 matches at Virginia Tech and have not won in Cassell Coliseum since Sept. 23, 1980. The match started out even as the teams traded sideouts early on in the first set. With the score tied at 11-11, Virginia Tech went on a 3-1 run to open up a 14-12 lead. A kill from sophomore Kristen White and three straight VT attack errors would give Wake a 4-0 run and a 16-14 advantage. The Hokies rallied back to eventually even the score at 19-19 before a kill from Willoughby, two kills from Record and a pair of service aces from Amy Wengrenovich gave VT a commanding 24-20 lead. Kills from Kadija Fornah and Cambrey Oehler followed by an attack error from Tech brought Wake to within one at 24-23 but a Deacon blocking error gave the Hokies the first set 25-23. Wake took the lead early in the second set, snagging a quick 5-3 lead. The Deacs couldn't build on the lead until the defense took over midway through. With the score 14-12 in favor of the Deacs, McIntyre teamed with Fornah for a block and then hooked up with Homitz for two more blocks to spark a 7-0 Wake run. White also added a block solo and McIntyre pounded a kill of her own during the spurt. With Wake now up 21-12, Homitz added another kill followed by two more kills from White to close out the set 25-15. The intermission helped the Hokies as they grabbed an early lead at 12-9 in the third set. Three VT errors and a kill from McIntyre would bring Wake even at 13-13 but the Hokies pushed the lead back up to four at 18-14. The Deacons got as close as one on a pair of occasions but eventually fell 25-21. Wake looked to have the advantage early in the fourth set as the Deacons took a 7-1 lead thanks to three kills and a block assist from Mullikin. However, the Hokies countered with a 6-0 run of their own to even the score at 10-10. Virginia Tech would then go on another 3-0 to take a 13-10 lead and would hold that lead throughout the rest of the set. The Deacons got as close as 17-15 but an attack error and VT block allowed the Hokies to keep the momentum and finish off the match 25-19. The Deacons hit a combined .280 in the first two sets but just .033 over the final two sets. Both teams wound up hitting .136 for match. Wake held a 13.0 to 6.0 advantage in blocks and outdug the Hokies 73 to 66 but Virginia Tech had five service aces to none for the Deacs. Wake will try to stop its skid as it heads to Virginia for a noon match on Sunday. The Cavaliers entered the night at 3-4 in the ACC and 11-8 overall as they host rival-Duke.
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