Sports > September 8, 2004

By Boomer Kennedy

Contributing Reporter

Just as they began their season last year, the Demon Deacon volleyball team came out of the gate hot.

Wake Forest knocked off three solid opponents Sept. 4-5 to win the Deacon Invitational Tournament, which was held in Reynolds Gymnasium. The Deacons opened their year with a 3-1 victory over South Carolina Sept. 4, hitting .405 as a team in the final game to put away the Gamecocks. The following day, they beat Marshall 3-1 before whipping Connecticut 3-0.

“I was very impressed with our team’s ability to maintain our level of play throughout a long weekend,” Head Coach Valorie Baker said. Baker is beginning her fifth season at the helm of the Deacon volleyball program.

The Deacons defeated South Carolina around in the first game, 30-19. After losing the second game 30-26, the Deacons bounced back to win the third game 30-20. A kill by senior middle blocker Kim Stern clinched the final game, 30-22, and the match, three games to one, for the Deacons.

Junior outside hitter Valerie Rydberg, an All-ACC and honorable mention All-American selection from last season, led the way for the Deacons offensively, picking up 16 kills while posting a .323 hitting percentage. Rydberg also contributed 12 digs and three service aces while Stern picked up 13 kills and 12 digs.

Junior setter Erin Borhart led the team with 46 assists while also nodding five digs and two service aces. Senior middle blocker Morgan Havig was a force at the net, leading the team with five solo blocks. Havig also picked up three digs and five kills.

All-ACC selection and honorable mention All-American Christy Williams, a junior middle blocker, contributed nine kills for a .538 hitting percentage, while also finding four digs.

Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Peterson picked up nine kills and three service aces in the first match, while sophomore Natasha Schaefer nodded 12 digs and two service aces. Junior defensive specialist A.J. Nicholas also picked up six digs.

The Deacs hit .328 as a team while limiting the Gamecocks’ attack to a mere .090. Wake Forest played better defensively than South Carolina as well, out digging their opponents 57-41 while posting 10 team blocks to South Carolina’s three.

The Deacs returned to the court the following afternoon to face the Thundering Herd of Marshall, who, like South Carolina, was unable to stop the one-two punch of Stern and Rydberg. Those two led the team with 16 kills each while Stern also picked up three service aces and Rydberg notched 14 digs, as Wake Forest defeated Marshall three games to one.

The Deacs’ defense was strong once again as Schaefer led all players with 23 digs. Havig dominated the net with seven blocks assisted and two solo blocks, leading all players in both categories. Havig also contributed 13 kills while Schaefer led all servers with five aces.

Borhart picked up 11 digs while dishing out 49 assists. Williams also contributed 10 digs and seven kills while Peterson added two service aces. In their final match of the weekend, the Deacs swept Connecticut in three games by scores of 30-21, 30-19 and 30-25. Williams led the way for Wake Forest in this match, notching 11 kills while assisting on five blocks. Stern and Rydberg were strong for the Deacs once again, picking up nine kills and 10 digs a piece.

Borhart contributed seven kills and 12 digs while dishing out 27 assists. Havig and freshman outside hitter Michael Faulkner posted solid performances with Havig picking up seven kills and Faulkner adding six.

Following their win over Connecticut, the Deacs were awarded the first place trophy as champions of the Deacon Invitational. Moreover, Stern was named to the all-tournament team and Havig was named tournament MVP.

“I thought we played very well as a team the whole weekend,” Havig said.

Stern said, “One of our goals is to be ACC Champions. And that is how everything is going — everything is going toward that goal. Everybody put every once of effort they had into this weekend.”

With three wins under their belt, the Deacs will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. Sept. 10-11 for the Lady Vols Invitational, where they will play Tennessee, Purdue and Tennessee-Martin.