Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Goes 5-3 in First Spring Competition
3/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
March 26, 2007
DURHAM, N.C. - Wake Forest opened its spring schedule on Saturday in a round-robin tournament hosted by Duke at Brodie Gymnasium. The Demon Deacons went 5-3, playing two games each against Appalachian State, NC State, Duke and North Carolina.
Wake opened the day by taking its first four games against Appalachian State and NC State. The Deacons defeated the Mountaineers 30-22 and 30-18 and then took down the Wolfpack 30-20 and 30-28.
Wake Forest then dropped two games to tournament-host and defending ACC champion Duke, falling 30-14 and 30-23.
The Deacs rounded out the day with a split against North Carolina. Playing mostly with four freshmen on the court, Wake lost the first game 30-27 but then came back to take the second 30-23.
"I was very pleased with our team's overall performance," said head coach Heather Kahl Holmes. "There was a great sense of team unity and commitment on the court this weekend. Our defense as a whole improved dramatically, and I know [Assistant Coach] Chad [Willis] has been working the players hard to improve their overall skill and confidence level.
"We made some switches at the beginning of the year, regarding our defensive system. We moved our outside hitter to middle back with the idea of them covering more ground and to be able to utilize them in the back court for attacking. We saw the difference it made this past weekend."
Wake Forest dressed 11 players for the day. Freshmen Sally Fischer and Lindsay Gardner did not dress, as both are still recovering from injuries.
Freshman Sara Uniacke led the Deacon defense, averaging 5.5 digs per game on the day. Junior Michael Faulkner was also solid in the back row, averaging 3.4 digs per game.
Freshmen Abby Miller and Kate Rodriguez averaged 3.0 and 2.6 digs per game, respectively.
Sophomore Jessica Furlong turned in 2.5 digs per game and 0.75 blocks per game. Furlong sat out Wake Forest's last two games against North Carolina after suffering a mild concussion in the Deacons' second game with Duke.
Sophomore Natalie Mullikin led Wake Forest at the net, averaging 0.95 blocks per game.
Freshman Dylan Faulkner was not far behind with 0.81 blocks per game, while junior Jackie Lucas averaged 0.75 blocks per game.
Sophomore Ashley Homitz finished with 0.5 blocks per game, and classmate Mary-Margaret Langston averaged 2.0 digs per game.
Statistics for kills and assists were not kept.
The Demon Deacons are back in action again next weekend, as Wake Forest hosts a 10-team tournament on Saturday at Reynolds Gymnasium. The first match is scheduled for 9 a.m.
