Wake Forest Athletics
Volleyball Continues ACC Competition
9/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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Sept. 30, 2003
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-- The Wake Forest volleyball team continues ACC play on the road this week, traveling to Duke on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and then Florida State for a match on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Wake Forest and Duke split their matches last year, with each team winning on the road. The Blue Devils hold a slight edge in the all-time series winning 11 out of 21.
The Demon Deacons were defeated by Florida State twice in 2002, both matches ending with a score of three games to one. Wake Forest is just 3-13 all-time against the Seminoles.
Wake Forest began ACC play last weekend by first defeating Virginia, then falling at Maryland. The Cavaliers were off to their best start ever, entering the match at 16-0, but the Deacs handed them their first loss of the season by a score of 3-1 on Friday evening. But the Terrapins gave Wake Forest all they could handle on Saturday night. The match went to a fifth and deciding game, but Maryland came out on top and ended the Deacs' two match winning streak.
Sophomore Christy Williams is off to a great start in 2003, leading the ACC with a .420 hitting percentage entering the week. Williams also ranks 14th in the nation in this category.
Redshirt sophomore Valerie Rydberg has eight double-doubles already on the season in just 13 matches played. Rydberg ranks fifth in the ACC with 3.83 kills per game and leads the league with 0.73 service aces per game. Rydberg also ranks third in the ACC with 3.62 digs per game. The Lemont, Ill. native needs just one kill and twelve digs to reach the 500-mark in her career for each category.
Wake Forest Head Coach Valorie Baker needs just two more victories to pass Gale Chamblee and move into second place on the Demon Deacons' career victory list.
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 .296. This mark also ranked 11th 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, and are in the top 25 nationally in each category.
Wake Forest averages 2.52 service aces per game which is tops in the ACC and seventh in the nation. The Deacs have 116 aces in just 46 games so far this season. Valerie Rydberg leads the team and ranks tenth nationally at 0.73 aces per game. Freshman Lauren Peterson averages 0.58 aces per game, putting her just behind her teammate Rydberg for third in the ACC. Christy Williams also ranks in the top four in the conference in this category with 0.45 aces per game.
