Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Finish Regular Season At Duke On Tuesday
11/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 25, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest volleyball team will wrap up the regular season Tuesday night with a trip to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils (23-8, 14-5 ACC). Wake Forest (19-12, 10-9 ACC) will be looking for its first 20-win season since 2003.
There is quite a bit on the line in tonight's matchup, as Duke comes into the night tied with rival North Carolina for the top spot in the ACC. Wake Forest cannot finish worse than eighth in the conference but a win tonight may vault them to seventh when all is said and done. Fans can see all of the action on the web at ACC Select.
Tuseday's match will also likely be the last match of Wake Forest's Natalie Mullikin's and Ashley Homitz's career.
Mullikin has been one of the best players to over wear the black and gold. She is the school's most prolific blocker, holding all three career blocking records (124 bs, 394 ba, 518 tb) and she ranks third all-time for career kills with 1,408.
Mullikin is a career .297 hitting out of the middle but this season, she leads the team with a .314 average and is fifth in the conference at 3.39 kills per set.
For Homitz, she is enjoying the best season of her career in 2008. She currently has 210 kills, more than half of her career total, and is third on the team with a total of 70 blocks.
Both players have also had great careers off the court, earning numerous academic honors but the thing the team will miss the most is their leadership on the court.
Sophomore setter Kelsey Jones has been one of the main reason's both Mullikin and Homitz have enjoyed so much success this season. She has dished out 1,233 assists and is third in the conference at 10.91 assists per set. Jones has also played well defensively, averaging just over 2.5 digs per set.
Libero Megan Thornberry has really had a tremendous sophomore season. She is fourth in the conference at 4.65 digs per set but has had an even better season passing out of the back row. Junior Abby Miller has also been solid in the back, collecting a total of 350 digs for an average of 3.10 per set.
On the season, the Demon Deacons are fourth in the conference as a team, holding its opponents to just a .162 hitting percentage. A large reason for that has been the play of the back row, averaging 17.01 digs per set, which is third in the ACC, but the front row has also contributed, averaging 2.35 blocks per set, which is fifth-best in the conference.
Duke is holding its opponents to a .172 hitting percentage and the first match this season between the two teams lived up to the numbers. Duke hit just .108 but held Wake to an even lower mark at .089. However, the Deacs rallied for a thrilling five-set victory, which featured a fifth-set score of 17-15.
Mullikin lead Wake with 17 kills against the Blue Devils while Jones and fellow sophomore Kristen White each posted double-doubles. The Demon Deacons also blocked a total of 14 shots in the match while Duke rejected 11 attempts. More of the same should be in store tonight.
Duke was led in the match by Rachel Moss' 16 kills and 20 digs. Jourdan Norman also put away 16 kills while Claire Smalzer collected a match-high 27 digs.
Moss has been Duke's most complete player this season, topping the squad with 414 kills and leading the conference with a staggering 53 service aces, 17 more than her nearest competitor. She has also averaged 3.22 digs per set and has blocked a total of 43 shots.
Freshman setter Kellie Catanach has had a strong first season on campus, leading the conference with 1,282 assists. She was named the ACC Player of the Week on Monday for her efforts in a pair of wins over Virginia and Virginia Tech last weekend.
Norman has continued to play well at the net this season as she ranks 29th in the country at 1.28 blocks per set. She's posted a total of 151 blocks and is also hitting .319 with 266 kills.
The Blue Devils hold a commanding 39-10 advantage in the overall series with Wake, but the Deacs have the opportunity to sweep the season series with their in-state rival for the first time ever.
