Sports > October 11, 2007

By LK Davey | Staff writer

The women’s volleyball team hit polar opposites this weekend with a 0-3 loss to UNC-Chapel Hill and then a 3-0 win against N.C. State in Raleigh, N.C. Although the Chapel Hill game was a very close match, the Tar Heels edged out the Demon Deacons 33-31, 30-28, 30-25. The Lady Deacons played very well, with the double-doubles of the game coming from freshmen Kelsey Jones and Kristen White. This was White’s second straight double-double, and Jones turned in her fourth in her last five matches.

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Freshman setter Kelsey Jones lobs the ball up for an attack during the Deacs’ loss to No. 13 Duke Oct. 9. With the loss, the Deacs fall to 7-10 overall and 4-4 in the ACC. (Mary Kate Wagner/Old Gold & Black)

White tied for the team lead with 13 kills and recorded 13 digs.

Junior Natalie Mullikin joined White in double-figure kills with 13. Mullikin also had a pair of block solos and a block assist.

Jones dished out 45 assists, her most in a three-game match this year, and tied her season-high with 17 digs.

Freshman libero Megan Thornberry led the Deacons with 19 digs, while sophomore Abby Miller tallied eight.

Freshman Lauren McIntyre capped the “spotlight players of the night” with three block assists and seven kills. McIntyre hit a team-best .400 with just one error in 15 attempts.

In a much better match for Wake Forest, the Lady Deacons held N.C. State to just nine points in the third game as the Demon Deacon swept the Wolfpack Oct. 6 at Reynolds Gymnasium.

Wake took down State 30-26, 30-23, 30-9. The spotlight players included Mullikin who recorded 20 kills. Mullikin led Wake to its 18th-straight defeat of N.C. State.

The Lebanon, Ind., native finished the night with 20 kills and just one error in 28 attempts for a .679 hitting percentage. Mullikin also added a pair of aces and three blocks for the Deacs.

Freshman setter Kelsey Jones posted her fourth straight double-double and the fifth in her last six matches. Jones dished out 38 assists and tallied 10 digs.

Megan Thornberry led Wake Forest with 15 digs, while sophomore Abby Miller had nine.

White fell just short of a double-double with 10 kills and eight digs. White, however, had five blocks including one block solo. McIntyre led the Deacs in blocking, finishing with seven. Junior Ashley Homitz chipped in three block assists for Wake.

The sweep was Wake Forest’s ninth straight over N.C. State. The Deacons have garnered sweeps in 14 of the teams’ last 18 meetings.

The last time the Wolfpack took a game from the Deacs was in 2002.

The Deacs finished the week with a home game against No. 13 Duke.

Despite winning the second game of the match 32-30, Wake Forest struggled to stop a strong Blue Devil attack. The Deacs fell in four games, making them 1-3 against instate opponents.

This placed Wake Forest at a total season record of 7-10 and an ACC record of 4-4.

The Deacs will have home matches on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 against the Clemson Tigers at 7 p.m. and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 6 p.m., respectively.