Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Miami
Wake Forest Outlasted in Four Games by Miami
10/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Wake Forest fell for the second time in as many matches, as the Demon Deacons suffered a four-game loss to Miami Sunday afternoon at the Knight Sports Complex. The Hurricanes outlasted the Deacs 30-23, 30-27, 30-32, 30-23.
Wake Forest drops to 11-9 overall and 7-4 in the ACC. Miami, who won for just the second time in its last six matches, moves to 8-13 overall and 5-7 in the conference.
Sophomore Natalie Mullikin tied her career high with 18 kills in the match. Mullikin hit .469 (three errors in 32 attempts) and also led the team with nine total blocks, including three block solos.
Fellow sophomore Jessica Furlong was right behind Mullikin with 16 kills. Furlong posted her second straight and 11th double-double of the season by adding 15 digs on the afternoon.
Junior Jackie Lucas and senior Lauren Peterson added 12 and 11 kills respectively. Lucas also recorded seven total blocks, while Peterson chipped in four block assists.
Senior Natasha Schaefer tallied a season-high 24 digs to lead all players.
Freshman Dylan Faulkner dished out 51 assists and also had three block assists and two service aces.
Sophomore Shannan Homan contributed a season-high four block assists on the afternoon.
Wake Forest was in control for much of the opening game, as the Deacons built a six-point lead at 18-12. However, Miami quickly erased that lead with an 8-1 run to take a 20-19 lead.
After Wake stopped the run to tie it at 20-20, the Hurricanes out-scored the Deacs 10-3 to earn a 30-23 game one victory.
The Demon Deacons had a chance to even the match at one game apiece but could not hold on to a lead late in the second stanza.
Miami used a 9-1 run midway through the game to break a 13-13 tie and take a seemingly insurmountable 22-14 lead. The Deacs fought back, though, with a 10-2 run of their own, taking advantage of nine Hurricane errors during the stretch, to tie it at 24-24.
Wake then gained its first lead of the contest at 27-26, but Miami scored the game's final four points to escape with a 30-27 win.
Despite blowing a 29-25 lead in game three, Wake Forest managed to pull out a 32-30 win. After Miami had scored five straight to earn match point at 30-29, Wake responded with three unanswered points of its own to win the game.
The momentum was short-lived, however, as the Hurricanes rolled to a game four victory. Miami never trailed and led by as many as 10 (27-17) before finishing the Deacons off with a 30-23 match-clinching win.
Since the volleyball program's reinstatement in 1996, Wake Forest has won just two times in 15 tries in the state of Florida. After their pair of losses at Florida State and Miami this weekend, the Demon Deacons are 2-10 in Tallahassee and 0-3 in Coral Gables during that time period.
Wake Forest will look to snap its two-match losing streak as it returns to action next weekend at Clemson and Georgia Tech. The Deacons will play at Clemson on Friday at 7 p.m. and then face Georgia Tech Saturday at 8 p.m. in Atlanta. Wake's match with the Yellow Jackets will be broadcast live on www.ACCSelect.com.
