Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Opens Conference Play at Duke
9/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2007
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will open up ACC play on Tuesday at defending conference champion Duke. The Demon Deacons and Blue Devils are set to square off at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Wake Forest enters its 22-match conference schedule with a record of 3-6 overall. The Deacons are coming off a 1-2 showing at last weekend's University of Houston Tournament. Wake swept Rice on Friday before suffering defeats to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.
Juniors Jessica Furlong and Natalie Mullikin have been leading the way thus far for the Deacons. Furlong is averaging 4.30 kills per game, while Mullikin has been hitting at a .341 clip. Mullikin is averaging 3.35 kills per game and a team-best 1.18 blocks per game.
Mullikin has taken over fifth place on Wake Forest's career block solos and block assists lists. She has 74 career block solos and 221 block assists. Mullikin is also fourth on Wake's total blocks list with 295 for her career. She needs just seven more blocks to take over third place.
Freshman Megan Thornberry has led the Deacs in the back row, averaging 3.56 digs per game from the libero spot. Furlong is second with 2.97 digs per game, and sophomore Abby Miller is third with 2.38. Thornberry also leads Wake with 14 aces.
Freshman Lauren McIntyre has been a bright spot at the net, as she has turned in 1.00 blocks per game. McIntyre recorded a season-best eight blocks against Houston on Saturday.
Sophomore Dylan Faulkner and freshman Kelsey Jones have split time at setter. Faulkner is averaging 9.55 assists per game, while Jones has dished out 9.30 per game.
No. 16-ranked Duke enters the match with a 5-3 record. The Blue Devils have faced some of the top teams in the country already this season. Duke defeated Purdue, who was ranked No. 14 at the time, in four games on Aug. 25.
The Blue Devils have suffered losses to No. 1 Nebraska and No. 4 Southern California. USC escaped with a five-game defeat of Duke on Aug. 31, while Nebraska swept Duke on Sept. 1 in Lincoln.
Duke was idle last weekend and is coming off an 0-2 showing at the Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge Sept. 7-8. The Blue Devils lost to Nebraska and to Louisville.
Duke leads the all-time series with Wake Forest 37-9. The Blue Devils have won each of the past seven meetings, dating back to the 2003 campaign. The all-time series dates back to 1974.
Last season, Duke swept both matches with Wake. The Blue Devils came away with a three-game victory on Oct. 10 in Winston-Salem and then followed with another sweep on Nov. 7 in Durham.
The Deacons will return home this weekend, as they are set to host Boston College and Maryland. Wake will take on the Eagles on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Terps Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
