Wake Forest Athletics
2002 Season Review
1/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Jan. 10, 2003
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The Wake Forest volleyball team (14-18, 6-10 ACC - 7th) ended the 2002 season on a high note, shutting out Alabama 3-0 on Nov. 30 at home. The Demon Deacons will return 14 letterwinners and five starters next year. In an up and down season for the Demon Deacons, Wake Forest looked sharp in shutout victories over Duke, Clemson, Virginia, NC State, East Tennessee State and Alabama, but looked like a different team in some other matches.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Valerie Rydberg led the team in kills (346), kills-per-game (2.96), digs (343), digs-per-game (2.93), service aces (48) and aces-per-game (0.41). Rydberg missed the East Tennessee Match (Oct. 22) with a sprained ankle, but started all the others. She ranked fourth in the ACC with .41 service aces-per-game. Her 2.93 digs-per-game average ranks fifth on the school's career records. Rydberg blasted a career high 29 kills with 18 digs, two aces and three blocks at Clemson Nov. 16 and she came up with a career high 19 digs against Virginia Oct. 4. Rydberg was selected to the Deacon Invitational All-Tournament Team after acing 20 serves to go with 37 kills and 29 digs in 12 games. She had 40 kills, 39 digs and seven blocks in 13 games at the Kentucky Challenge, earning a spot on the all-tournament team.
Christy Williams was tabbed the ACC Rookie of the Year and was also selected to the ACC All-Freshman Team. The middle blocker played in almost every match, starting eight, and saw action in more than half the games. She led the team with a .351 attack percentage in conference games, was second on the squad with a .332 attack percentage in all games, second on the club with .90 blocks per game and was third on the team with 2.65 kills per game. Williams led the team with 19 kills and 12 blocks against Liberty Oct. 8, including a then-school record 10 block assists. Her .90 blocks-per-game average ranks fourth in the school's career records.
Senior setter Ashlee Phillips became Wake Forest's all-time assists leader midway through the season when she broke the school record. She ended up with 4,668 career assists. Phillips led the team and ranked sixth in the ACC with 11.77 assists-per-game. She also led the team and ranked fourth in the league with a .346 attack percentage, which ranks fourth in the single season school records. Her .288 career attack percentage ranks fourth in the career school records. Phillips ranks fifth in the school records with 196 career block assists and her 1,271 assists this year ranks fourth in the school's single season records (her junior year and sophomore year assist totals rank third and first respectively). She was elected the MVP by her teammates.
Sara Beth DeLisle came on strong in the second half of the season. The junior outside hitter went from being fifth on the team with 1.98 kills-per-game in the first half of the season to being second on the team with 2.54 kills-per-game in the second half of the season. She ended up second on the team with 266 digs and third in kills with 262. DeLisle led the team with 13 kills to go with seven digs in the ACC quarterfinal match against No. 20 Georgia Tech Nov. 22 and posted a career high seven blocks to go with seven kills and a team-leading 22 digs at Clemson Nov. 16.
Sophomore middle blocker Kim Stern led the team with 99 blocks on the year, including 22 solo stuffs. She broke the school record for block assists in a match with 13 at Clemson Nov. 16, where she also recorded a career high 21 kills. Stern was second on the club with 301 kills, putting away 2.92 kills-per-game. She was picked to the Black & Gold Challenge all-tournament team after leading the team with a .463 hitting percentage (25 kills, only 6 errors on 41 attempts) over eight games.
Ashley Fisher was named to the all-tournament team at the Deacon Invitational after putting away 41 kills in three matches to go with six blocks, six aces and 24 digs in 12 games, including a career high 17 kills versus Ohio Aug. 31 and a career high .706 hitting percentage, recording 13 kills and only one error in 17 attempts against Auburn Aug. 30. She started every match but senior day and finished the season in the top five for digs, aces, blocks and assists on the team.
Junior middle blocker Jessica Hauff was second on the team with 84 blocks, including 21 solo stuffs. She was third on the team with 219 kills and fifth on the squad with a .282 attack percentage. Playing in 31 of 32 matches, Hauff started 26. She hit .480 against No. 12 North Carolina Nov. 9 with 12 kills and no errors to go with five blocks and led the team with with 11 kills to go with five blocks in shutout win at Virginia Nov. 2. Hauff came off the bench to lead the team with a career high 20 kills against Florida State Oct. 20 and had a career high seven blocks, including four solos in the Oct. 4 win over Virginia.
Head Coach Valorie Baker earned her 50th career victory in a 3-1 road win at NC State Oct. 12. In only three years as a head coach (all at Wake Forest), Baker has amassed a record of 55-38.
The Demon Deacons set a school record for block assists in a match with 34 at Clemson on Nov. 16. The 2002 club finished fourth in the single season team school records with 4,608 attacks, tied for third place with a .223 attack percentage, finished third with 84 solo blocks, fourth with 381 block assists and fourth with 1,616 assists.
Wake Forest took a game from the eventual national champion, Southern California at the BYU Mizuno Invitational in Provo, Utah, when the Demon Deacons lost 3-1 to the Women of Troy on Sept. 6.
The ACC announced its 50th Anniversary Team prior to the beginning of the season, honoring the top 50 volleyball players in the first 50 years of the ACC. Trina Maso de Moya (1998-01) and Pam Pounds (1980-83) represented the Demon Deacons on the team. Wake Forest assistant coach Heather Kahl was also named to the squad for her playing days accomplishments at Clemson.
