Sept. 3, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM - One week after winning the Deacon Invitational, the Wake Forest volleyball team will head to the Adidas Classic hosted by Indiana this weekend, Sept. 5-6. The Deacons will face Louisville, Indiana and Valparaiso over the weekend. The Deacons will open the tournament against Louisville on Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. They will then play host Indiana at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening before closing the tournament with Valparaiso on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Wake Forest is looking for its first 4-0 start since the 2003 season. The last time Wake won its first three matches was in 2004 when the Deacs won eight of their first 10 matches. Wake is coming off a perfect 3-0 weekend in which the Deacs won the Deacon Invitational for the sixth time in the tournament's history. Sophomore Kristen White had 12 kills and 8 digs to lead the Deacs to a 3-0 sweep of Davidson in the first match of the season last Friday. In the second match, a host of Deacons got into the action against Norfolk State, downing the Spartans 25-11, 25-8, 25-17. The Deacs had 14 different players see action in the match with three players, Lauren McIntyre, Carlin Salmon and White, all recording six kills. Defensively, sophomore Megan Thornberry had 15 digs and junior Abby Miller added 10 digs. In the championship match against Winthrop, Wake's defense proved to be the difference, recording 11 total blocks and posting 10 more digs than the Eagles. Graduate student Natalie Mullikin, who 10 kills and eight block assists in the Deacs to a 3-1 victory, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after recording a total of 26 kills and nine total blocks in the three matches.
Thornberry was also named to the All-Tournament team after recording a total of 46 digs. Her 4.60 digs per set are currently second-most in the ACC. Louisville enters the weekend after sweeping Indiana State last Friday night in Louisville, Ky. Tatyana Kolesnikova had 11 kills and Renee Tomko dished out 29 assists in the victory. The Cardinals also posted 13 total blocks in the match. The Deacs are 0-3 all-time against the Cardinals. The last meeting came in the opening round of the Courtyard by Marriott Airport Classic on Sept. 2, 2005. Both Mullikin and senior Ashley Homitz made their Deacon debuts in the three-set loss. Indiana is returning home from a trip out west which saw it go 1-2. After losses to Long Beach State and Missouri State, the Hoosiers swept San Francisco to salvage the trip. Erica Short and Kelsey Hall had 46 and 44 kills, respectively while Ashley Benson returned home with 21 total blocks. The Hoosiers won the only other meeting between Wake and Indiana. That match was played at the Dayton Marriott Flyer Invitational on Sept. 8, 2006. Indiana won the five-set thriller 21-30, 30-22, 30-23, 29-31, 15-11. Mullikin had 14 kills and a pair of blocks for the Deacs while Short posted 20 kills on 51 attempts for the Hoosiers. Valparaiso enters the Adidas Classic after winning the Shamrock Invitational at Notre Dame last weekend with a perfect 3-0 record. The Crusaders swept Nevada to start the tournament and then beat IPFW and Notre Dame by scores of 3-1. Angie Porche had 57 kills in the three matches while Kim Bukowski dished out a combined 127 assists. Like Indiana, Valpo has won the only other match with Wake Forest. The two teams met in the second match of the Ohio Bobcat Invitational on Sept. 6, 1996. The Crusaders won 15-5, 17-15, 15-11. Every game of the Adidas Classic game be followed through CSTV's Gametracker. After the Adidas Classic, the Deacs will return home to host the Black & Gold Challenge on Sept. 12-13. Wake will welcome in Western Michigan, East Carolina and Delaware. |
