Sports > September 22, 2004

By Ryan Durham

Contributing Reporter

The Demon Deacon volleyball team played at the Wright State Tournament in Dayton, Ohio Sept. 17-18. The Deacs played 17th-ranked Louisville, Morehead State, Bowling Green and Wright State, with their only loss coming to Louisville.

The team started off the tournament against Louisville Sept. 17 in an afternoon match. They lost the first two games of the match 30-19 and 30-25, but rallied to take the Cardinals to five games before losing.

In the first two games, the Deacons only recorded 18 kills to the Cardinals’ 33.

The Deacs came back, though, in game three to defeat the Cardinals 30-20. They raised their hitting percentage in this game and had 16 kills.

The fourth game of the match was even closer, with the Deacons defeating the Cardinals 32-30. The Deacs, however, were not able to stop the Cardinals in the fifth game, falling 18-16.

The Deacs tallied 63 kills, 59 digs and 55 assists in the match. Junior Erin Borhart recorded 50 of the team’s assists, the most in the match. Sophomore Natasha Schaefer had 17 digs. Seniors Morgan Havig and Kim Stern and junior Valerie Rydberg posted 14 kills apiece. Stern also had 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.

“The game was point-for-point and could have gone either way but I’m proud of the way the girls performed,” Head Coach Valorie Baker said.

The Deacs rebounded that night against Morehead State with a 3-2 win. After falling in the first game 30-21, they came back in game two to win 30-19. Morehead State won game three 30-20, but the team tied it up at 2-2 with a 30-22 win in game four. They sealed the match in the fifth with a 15-11 win.

Stern posted her second double-double of both the day and season with 19 kills and 12 digs. Borhart recorded 40 of the team’s 49 assists, giving her 90 on the day. Junior Christy Williams posted three service aces, three digs and an assist.

Sept. 18, the Deacs followed their win the previous night with a 3-1 win over Bowling Green. The Deacs out-hit the Falcons .216-.068 in the first game, defeating them 30-25. In game two, the Falcons came out with an early lead but the Deacs were able to rally and won 30-24.

The Falcons took game three by a score of 30-22, thanks to a 7-0 run at one point. They kept with the Deacs for most of game four, tying it twice, but Baker’s squad prevailed in the end, winning the match 3-1.

Stern posted her third double-double of the weekend with 13 kills and 10 digs. Borhart continued her great assist run with another 49 assists and 11 digs, her fourth double-double of the season.

Havig had 16 kills and five block assists in the game. Schaefer also posted a game-high 19 digs and sophomore Jenna Doane knocked down a career high 10 kills and four block assists. The team out-hit the Falcons .216 to .172.

The Deacs wrapped up their weekend against Wright State with a 3-1 victory over the host school. The Deacons won 30-25 in game one, 30-27 in game three and 30-22 in game four. Their only loss came in game two, by a score of 30-28. The Deacs out-hit the Raiders .298 to .202 and out-blocked them 14-5.

Borhart led the Deacs, posting her third career triple-double with 10 kills, 53 assists and 11 digs. This performance gave Borhart 192 assists in the weekend’s four games.

Stern also picked up her fourth double-double in four games with 11 kills and 13 digs.

Rydberg posted a double-double with 21 kills and 19 digs.

Havig posted 15 kills in the match and freshman Michael Faulkner got a career-high of 13 kills.

“The team was well-prepared this weekend and executed all it was asked to,” Baker said.

The Deacs are now 8-2 on the season, with their losses having come at the hands of two ranked teams