Wake Forest Athletics
Volleyball Hosts Georgia Tech And Clemson On Homecoming Weekend
11/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest volleyball team will put its ACC-leading 12-1 home record on the line this weekend against Georgia Tech and Clemson. The Demon Deacons will entertain the Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m. on Friday evening before taking on Clemson at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
This weekend is homecoming weekend on campus and the matches don't get any bigger for Wake. The Deacs are currently tied for seventh in the ACC with a 7-6 record but are just three matches behind Clemson, which leads the conference at 10-3. Georgia Tech comes into the weekend tied for second with a 9-4 mark.
Wake's 12 wins at home this season have them tied for fifth in the country entering into the week.
Both Georgia Tech and Clemson come to town riding high. Tech is coming off a pair of three-set sweeps of Virginia and Virginia Tech at home last weekend while the Tigers have won 10 of its last 11 matches, including a pair of sweeps against Virginia and Virginia Tech as well.
The Deacons returned from the state of Florida last weekend with a split, falling to Florida State on Friday night but got a strong match from sophomore setter Kelsey Jones to complete a season-sweep of Miami on Sunday.
Jones was just four kills shy of a triple-double against the Hurricanes as she dished out 36 assists, collected 12 digs and set a season-high with six kills. The double-double was her team-leading 12th of the season.
The Ada, Mich., native also surpassed the 2,000 career assist mark against the `Canes. She is currently fourth all-time in school history with 2,024 career assists.
On top of leading the team with 955 assists this season, Jones is also second in the conference and 38th in the country at 10.73 assists per set. She is third on the squad at 2.85 digs per set.
One reason why Jones has racked up the assists this season has been the play of her middle blocker and leader Natalie Mullikin. The Lebanon, Ind., native tops the team with 294 kills and is fifth in the conference at 3.34 kills per set. She is hitting a solid .325 as well this season, which is more than 25 points above her career average.
Mullikin also leads the team with 101 total blocks. She recently surpassed Margaret Davidson for the most total blocks in a career and is just ten block assists away from breaking Davidson's career record of 388 block assists.
The Deacs' other middle blocker, Lauren McIntyre, has also had a stellar sophomore campaign. She is right behind Mullikin with 95 total blocks and is fifth in the conference at 1.18 blocks per set.
Wake Forest also has a pair of outside hitters in sophomore Kristen White and freshman Kadija Fornah that, when healthy, have given defenses fits this season. White has battled nagging injuries but has still managed to put away 2.67 kills per set while Fornah is close behind at 2.42.
Freshman Cambrey Oehler has also seen significant playing time this season and has made the most of her opportunities. She leads the team with 16 services aces and has collected a total of 147 digs.
On the right side, senior Ashley Homitz has had a solid season, averaging 1.77 kills per set and has blocked a total of 59 attempts.
An interesting aspect to watch this weekend will be the offensive attack of Clemson and Georgia Tech against the solid defense of Wake's back row. Clemson and Georgia Tech are one and two in the conference in team hitting percentage while the Wake defense is tied for first in opponent hitting percentage at .149 and second at 17.08 digs per set.
Sophomore Megan Thornberry has flourished this season in the libero roll. Due to injuries last season, she was shifted around a bit but this season, she has played all 89 sets in the back row and leads the team with 403 digs. Her 4.53 digs per set are fourth-best in the ACC and 59th in the country.
Thornberry is joined in the back by junior defensive specialist Abby Miller. Miller is averaging 3.08 digs per set and is coming off back-to-back solid outings last weekend.
As mentioned, Georgia Tech is second in the conference in hitting percentage at .263 and the Yellow Jackets also top the ACC at 13.98 kills per set thanks in large part to senior Talisa Kellogg.
Kellogg is the conference-leader at 3.86 kills per set and has recorded a team-high 266 kills. Fellow senior Callie Miller is close behind with 233 kills and she is sixth in the conference with a .362 hitting percentage.
The Yellow Jackets got a double-double from setter Allie Niekamp in the win over Virginia Tech last Friday and Chrissy DeMichelis led the team with ten kills against Virginia on Saturday.
Georgia Tech downed Wake Forest in three sets on Oct. 11 in Atlanta, and has now won the last four meetings in the series. Tech also holds a 23-8 all-time edge in the series but Wake has won two of the last three matches played in Reynolds Gym.
Clemson boasts the conference's best hitting percentage at .272 and the most blocks per set at 2.87. A large reason for both of those numbers has been the play of senior Danielle Hepburn.
Hepburn is the reigning ACC Player of the Week for her stellar performances against Virginia and Virginia Tech last weekend. Against the Hoos, Hepburn drilled 13 kills with no errors for a .684 hitting percentage and added 10 kills and five blocks a day later against the Hokies.
For the season, Hepburn leads the conference at 1.52 blocks per set, which also sixth-best in the country. She leads the team with 315 kills and is third in the conference with a .388 hitting percentage.
Junior Lia Proctor has recorded 307 kills this season and is second on the team at 2.69 digs per set.
After losing its first two ACC contests, Clemson has won 10 of its next 11 with its only setback coming at North Carolina on Oct. 24. The Tigers have won the last ten matches in the all-time series with Wake and the Demon Deacons will be looking to snap a nine-match losing streak to the Tigers at home.
Wake Forest does not have to leave the state of North Carolina the rest of the season. The Deacs have road trips left to North Carolina, NC State and Duke and will host Virginia and Virginia Tech at home in two weeks.
