Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Land Two On Volleyball All-ACC Team
12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 2, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Graduate student Natalie Mullikin and freshman Kadija Fornah garnered All-ACC honors as announced by the ACC office on Tuesday. The players were selected through voting by the conference's twelve head coaches.
Mullikin received first team accolades for the second straight season and Fornah was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
This marks the third consecutive season Mullikin has taken home All-ACC honors as she also received second team honors as a sophomore in 2006. She becomes just the third Demon Deacon to earn All-ACC honors three times in a career joining Margaret Davidson and Trina Maso de Moya who both earned All-ACC honors from 1998-2001. Mullikin and Maso de Moya are also the only two Demon Deacons to be named first team All-ACC more than once.
Mullikin had stellar season in 2008 and will go down as one of the best to wear the black and gold. She finishes her career as the school's all-time leading blocker, holding the school record for career block solos (124), career block assists (397) and career total blocks (521). She also finished third all-time for career kills with 1,423.
This season, Mullikin topped the squad with 395 kills for an average of 3.41 per set and had a solid .316 hitting percentage. She also led the team with 123 total blocks including 25 block solos and 98 block assists.
Mullikin led the team in kills 19 times this season and recorded double-digit kills in all but six matches.
Fornah, a 6-0 outside hitter from West Palm Beach, Fla. (Suncoast), stepped right in from the very start and had a very fine freshman campaign. She saw action in all 32 matches, making 13 starts and finished second on the team behind Mullikin with 264 kills. She posted a pair of 16-kill performances against Delaware and NC State and had 12 matches where she recorded double-digit kills.
Fornah also played solid defense this season, posting a .903 reception percentage and 98 digs. She notched a season-high 12 digs in the final match of the season against Duke. Fornah also used her tremendous athletic ability at the net to block a total of 41 attacks.
Fornah is the sixth Demon Deacon to garner All-Freshman Team honors and the second in the past two years as sophomore setter Kelsey Jones received All-Freshman Team accolades last season.
Wake Forest finished the 2008 season with a 19-13 overall mark with the 19 wins being the most since 2003. The Deacs also had an impressive 14-3 record at home which sets the school record for most home wins in a season.
First Team All-ACC
Brianna Eskola, UNC
Danielle Hepburn, Clem
Talisa Kellogg, GT
Callie Miller, GT
Rachael Moss, Duke
Natalie Mullikin, WFU
Kelsey Murphy, Clem
Lauren Prussing, UNC
Felicia Willoughby, VT
Second Team All-ACC
Heather Brooks, UNC
Lane Carico, Miami
Angelica Ellis, Miami
Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland, UNC
Genny Mayhew, Miami
Ashlee Moon, FSU
Jourdan Norman, Duke
Lia Proctor, Clem
Lauren Richardson, FSU
ACC All-Freshman Team
Simone Asque, UVA
Lane Carico, Miami
Kellie Catanach, Duke
Sophia Dunworth, Duke
Kadija Fornah, WFU
Erin Leaser, VT
Player of the Year
Danielle Hepburn, Clem
Freshman of the Year
Lane Carico, Miami
Coach of the Year
Nicole Lantagne Welch
