Wake Forest Athletics
Volleyball Hosts Two ACC Matches This Weekend
10/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2003
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-- The Wake Forest volleyball team returns home to Reynolds Gymnasium this weekend to host #5 Georgia Tech on Friday at 7 pm and Clemson on Saturday at 6 pm.
The Yellow Jackets took both regular season matches from Wake Forest last season, dropping just one game in the process. Georgia Tech enters this match ranked fifth in the nation, their highest ranking ever. They are 16-0 in 2003 including a 4-0 mark in the ACC. The defending ACC champions set a school record with 33 victories last year and have a 14-6 record all-time against the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest went 1-1 in its two matches against Clemson last season. The Deacs cruised to a 3-0 sweep of the Tigers in Winston-Salem in October but dropped a 3-2 match at Clemson one month later. The Tigers have won 15 of the 20 matches played between the two teams all-time.
Wake Forest continued ACC play last week, going 2-0 at Duke and Florida State. The Deacs won their first 3-2 match of the season Sept. 30 in Durham and followed that up with a 3-1 victory over the Seminoles in Tallahassee on Oct. 4.
Redshirt sophomore Valerie Rydberg has recorded five consecutive double-doubles and has ten already on the season in just 15 matches played. Rydberg is tied for fourth in the ACC with 3.84 kills per game.She ranks eight in the nation and leads the league with 0.73 service aces per game. Rydberg also ranks second in the ACC with 3.88 digs per game. With her 20 kill, 26 dig performance last week at Duke, the Lemont, Ill. native surpassed the 500-mark in both categories for her career at Wake Forest.
Sophomore setter Erin Borhart achieved a feat rarely seen in volleyball at Florida State last Saturday. Borthart had 14 kills and 13 digs to go along with 37 assists, recording the first triple- double of her career.
Wake Forest's 3-1 victory at Florida State gave head coach Valorie Baker 68 career wins, moving her ahead of Gale Chamblee (1978-80) into second place on the Demon Deacons' all-time victories list. Baker is now 68-41 in her fourth season at the helm for Wake Forest.
As a team, the Demon Deacons rank high in the conference in several offensive categories. Wake Forest is second in the ACC behind #5 Georgia Tech in hitting percentage at .284. This mark was also good enough for 14th in the nation entering the week. The Deacs also rank second in the conference behind the Yellow Jackets in kills per game and assists per game.
Wake Forest averages 2.40 service aces per game which is tops in the ACC and 15th in the nation. The Deacs have 132 aces in 55 games so far this season. Valerie Rydberg leads the team and ranks eighth nationally at 0.73 aces per game. Freshman Lauren Peterson averages 0.6 aces per game, putting her just behind her teammate Rydberg for third in the ACC. Christy Williams also ranks in the top seven in the conference in this category with 0.37 aces per game.
