Sept. 29, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After splitting its first two ACC matches last week, the Wake Forest volleyball team will look to pickup another victory against in-state rival Duke Tuesday night in Reynolds Gym. Both teams enter the match with identical 10-4 overall records and 1-1 marks in the conference. Wake Forest is coming off a three-set sweep of previously unbeaten Miami Friday night after falling to Florida State in their ACC opener on Thursday. Duke played the opposite schedule and had the opposite results. The Blue Devils fell to Miami on Thursday night but rebounded to beat the Seminoles on Friday. Offensively for the Wake, graduate student Natalie Mullikin leads the way with 161 kills. She is hitting at a .345 clip and is averaging 3.22 kills per set. Mullikin is also getting it done defensively from her middle blocker position. The Lebanon, Ind., native has recorded a team-high 54 total blocks including 10 block solos and 44 block assists. She is just 20 total blocks away from tying Margaret Davidson's career-mark of 472. Mullikin is also just 45 block assists shy of matching Davidson's career-block assists total as well. Sophomore setter Kelsey Jones has had a tremendous start to the season. She has posted eight double-doubles this season, including one in four of the last five matches. Jones has dished out a total of 545 assists and has already climbed into fifth all-time in school history with 1,614 career assists. Her 10.69 assists per set currently rank her second in the conference. Fellow sophomore Kristen White has played well from her outside hitter position early on this season. White is second on the team with 135 kills and has also posted four double-doubles. She is currently fourth on the team with 126 digs and has a reception percentage of .977.
The stellar play of the back row has been a key to the Demon Deacons success this season. Sophomore libero Megan Thornberry and junior Abby Miller have both played solid so far. Thornberry leads the team with 236 digs and is averaging 4.63 digs per set, which is third in the ACC. Miller is third on the squad with 143 digs and has recorded six service aces. The solid play of the Deacon freshmen has also been a welcomed surprise this season. Cambrey Oehler has stepped in and played in every set this season, recording 31 kills, 88 digs and eight service aces. Kadija Fornah has come on strong over the past three weeks and is currently third on the team with 111 kills. For Duke, junior Rachael Moss has led the way with 190 kills, 22 service aces and is second on the team with 155 digs. Her 22 service aces are tops in the ACC. Moss has accounted for just over 25 percent of Duke's points this season. Senior middle blocker Jourdan Norman is third on the team with 107 kills but tops the squad with 70 total blocks, which is third-best in the conference. She is also hitting a solid .375 for the season. The Blue Devils lead the ACC in team hitting percentage at .288 and are second in both assists per set (12.60) and kill per set (13.63). Duke holds a 39-9 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools and has also won the last nine meetings. The last Wake win at home over the Blue Devils came on Oct. 31, 2000 when the Deacs pulled out a 3-2 victory. The match is scheduled to being at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on ACC Select. Fans can also follow along with live scoring brought to you by CSTV's Gametracker. |
