Nov. 18, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest volleyball team will host its final two home matches of the season this week as it welcomes in Virginia Tech and Virginia on Thursday and Friday. The Demon Deacons will take on Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on Thursday night before celebrating senior night at 7 p.m. against Virginia on Friday. The match with the Hokies on Thursday can be seen on ACC Select. The Deacons (17-12, 8-9 ACC) come into this week after splitting a pair of road matches last weekend at NC State and North Carolina. Against the Wolfpack, Wake got a very good match from redshirt sophomore Kate Rodriguez, who collected a career-high 11 digs and four service aces in the thrilling four-set victory. Both Virginia Tech and Virginia are coming off wins over Maryland and Boston College last weekend. Tech is tied for fourth in the ACC with an 11-6 mark while the Cavaliers are tied for eighth with the Deacs at 8-9. Friday night will be the last match in Reynolds Gym for both graduate student Natalie Mullikin and senior Ashley Homitz. Both players have had strong 2008 campaigns and have been tremendous leaders for the team. Mullikin has posted a record-breaking season, eclipsing the school's total block record in October and her next block assist will give her the career block assist record as well. She will likely finish her career as the school's all-time leading blocker as she is already the only Demon Deacon to ever record over 100 career block solos (123). The Lebanon, Ind., native has also had a strong season offensively, leading the team with 349 kills and is fifth in the conference at 3.36 kills per set. She's averaging more kills per set this season than any other season in her career, which is impressive because of the scoring change this season. For her career, Mullikin has recorded 1,377 kills which ranks her third in school history.
Homitz is having the best season of her career in 2008. She has collected 189 kills and a total of 65 blocks. She is also second on the team in hitting percentage at a solid .252 after sliding to the right side this fall. Homitz has played a key role in every match this season and is just six kills shy of 400 for her career. She has also recorded a total of 167 career blocks. Sophomore setter Kelsey Jones has had the luxury of setting both Homitz and Mullikin over the last two seasons. She recently surpassed the 1,000 assist mark this season and is second in the ACC and 37th in the country at 10.81 assists per set. She also ranks fourth in school history with 2,204 career assists in just two seasons. One constant for the Deacons this year has been the defense and the passing out of the back row. Sophomore libero Megan Thornberry is fourth in the conference at 4.65 digs per set and tops the team with 488 digs. She has also been strong on serve receive, holding a .970 percentage with almost 560 receptions. Junior Abby Miller is also averaging over three digs per set (3.05) and is second on the team with 320 digs. Offensively for Wake, sophomores Kristen White, Lauren McIntyre and freshman Kadija Fornah have all played well this season. Fornah is second in the team with 248 kills while White is close behind with 238. McIntyre has recorded 173 kills and a total of 105 blocks. Virginia Tech is 3-3 in its last six matches and is just two matches out of first in the conference. The Hokies have mainly done it with defense, holding opponents to just a .153 hitting percentage, which is the second-lowest mark in the ACC. Offensively, sophomore Felicia Willoughby leads the team with 284 kills and tops the conference and is 13th in the country with a .403 hitting percentage. She is the reigning ACC Player of the Week after hitting .525 with 27 kills and 10 blocks in the two wins last weekend. The Hokies have also been a strong serving team, leading the conference with 178 service aces as three different players rank in the top-10 in the conference in service aces per set. Tech holds a 22-8 advantage in the all-time series with Wake and has won the last four matches, including a 3-1 victory in Blacksburg, Va., on Oct. 17. However, the Deacons have won four out of the last five matches between the two teams in Reynolds Gym. After dropping four straight matches, Virginia has won its last three matches and comes into the weekend tied with the Deacons at 8-9 in the conference. Junior Lauren Dickson has played well this season, leading the team with 274 kills and 32 service aces. Middle blocker Sydney Hill tops the squad with 118 total blocks and is fourth in the ACC with 1.12 blocks per set. Defensively, five different Cavaliers are averaging over two digs per set led by Brittani Rendina at 4.21. The Cavaliers have a 19-15 edge in the all-time series with Wake and have won eight out of the last nine meetings, dating back to 2003. In the first match this season between the two teams, Mullikin posted 18 kills but Virginia rebounded after a tough first set to win the match 3-1. Simone Asque had 21 kills for Virginia in the win. After this week, the Demon Deacons will close out the season with one final match against arch-rival Duke in Durham on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. |
