Sports > September 15, 2004

By Ryan Durham

Contributing Reporter

The volleyball team participated in the Domino’s Pizza Lady Vols Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. Sept. 10-11.

The Demon Deacons opened the tournament Sept. 10 with a 3-0 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers but rebounded Sept. 11 to defeat 24th-ranked Purdue and Tennessee-Martin, each by scores of 3-0.

“I was proud of the team rebounding after such a loss, and I credit the team for their great focus and determination on (the second day),” Head Coach Valorie Baker said.

The Deacons suffered the first defeat of the season to the Lady Vols, with games of 30-21, 30-24 and 30-15. The Deacs kept up for most of games one and two, but the Vols pulled away in game three of the match.

Junior Valerie Rydberg led the Deacs with nine digs and nine kills in the match. Junior Erin Borhart put up an amazing 24 assists and junior Christy Williams got three block assists and five kills against the Vols.

The highlight of the tournament for the Deacs came the next morning against No. 24 Purdue.

For the first time ever, the Deacs defeated a ranked team, which marked a huge milestone. The Deacs defeated the Boilermakers 30-22 in the first game, 30-19 in the second and 30-27 in the third game.

The Deacs out-hit the Boilermakers .462 to .274. They clinched the win with a kill by sophomore Lauren Peterson after the Boilermakers tried to rally back at the end of game three.

The Deacs were led by Rydberg and Borhart, who each posted double-doubles on the way to victory, giving each three on the season. Rydberg had 16 kills and 12 digs and Borhart with 13 digs and 40 assists.

“(The Tennessee game) wasn’t exactly what we wanted but everything just seemed to click,” Borhart said.

Despite the strong opponent, the Deacs managed to dominate the ball most of the match.

The Boilermakers held the lead only in the second game and could not keep the Deacs from rallying away to a huge victory.

Later that day, the Deacs soundly defeated UT-Martin 3-0. The Deacs defeated the Skyhawks 30-9 in the first game, led by senior Kim Stern and Rydberg.

In game two, the Skyhawks stayed a little closer but the Deacs defeated them 30-19. The Deacs closed out the last game by scoring five of the last seven points to defeat the Skyhawks 30-19.

Rydberg managed to post her second double-double of the weekend and fourth on the season, tallying 16 kills and 16 digs. Stern posted 10 kills and five assists in the game.

Three freshmen also made their mark on the game. Michael Faulkner had nine kills, Emily Nedderman had 18 assists and Jackie Lucas led the Deacs defensively with six block assists.

“We didn’t start off well (in the tournament) but we made the best turn around I’ve seen,” Stern said. “It was like night and day.”

Rydberg echoed this sentiment.

“I think that it turned out really well and our success this weekend will foreshadow the rest of the season,” Rydberg said.

Both Stern and Rydberg were named to the all-tournament team for their stellar performances. Rydberg led the Deacons on both sides with 41 kills and 37 assists and seven service aces in the tournament.

Offensively, Stern was not far behind, recording 32 kills and leading the Deacs in blocking with nine block assists and three solos.

Rydberg received yet another award Sept. 13 when she was named the ACC Player of the Week. Rydberg currently leads the Demon Deacons in both kills and digs.

The Deacs will travel to Dayton, Ohio for the Wright State Tournament Sept. 17-18.

Sept. 17 they will go up against another ranked team, No. 17 Louisville, followed by Morehead State. The next day, they will face Bowling Green and Wright State.