Wake Forest University
Miami
Miami Blocks Wake's Bid For Seven Straight
10/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2009
Box Score | Box Score in PDF Format 
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Miami front line blocked a total of 15 Wake Forest attacks and Lane Carico posted 22 kills and 22 digs to lead the Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory over Wake Forest Thursday evening.
The win bumps UM to 10-6 on the year and 3-3 in the ACC and also halts the Deacons' six-match win-streak, dropping them to 6-11 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
Miami had just three combined errors in the first two sets while posting 25-20 and 25-15 victories. Wake came out of the break and hit .292 in the third set to take a 26-24 victory but the `Canes finished the match with a 25-18 victory in the fourth.
Carico, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, lead all attackers with 22 digs and she also tied teammate Cassie Loessberg with a match-best 22 digs. Christine Williamson and Lici McGee each added 14 kills for the Hurricanes.
Ali Becker finished the match with 10 total blocks to go along with her 12 kills as freshman setter Nrithya Sundaraman ran the offense well, dishing out 53 assists and blocking six attacks.
Junior Kelsey Jones led the Deacons with her seventh double-double of the season, dishing out 43 assists and collecting 13 digs. Fellow junior Kristen White was one-dig shy of her own double-double, finishing with a season-high 17 kills and nine digs.
Sophomore Kadija Fornah chipped in with 16 kills and hit a solid .308 for the Deacs while freshman Andrea Beck added 11 kills and two blocks.
Libero Megan Thornberry led Wake with 16 digs on the evening while senior Abby Miller and sophomore Cambrey Oehler each chipped in with 11.
The story of the night was the Miami defense as it blocked a total of 15 attacks. That is the most blocks an opponent has had against the Deacons all year. The `Canes also held Wake to just a .184 hitting percentage, which is just the second time in the last seven matches the Deacs have failed to hit over .260.
It wasn't all defense however as Miami hit .335 with just 12 total errors in the match. UM also held a 75-69 advantage in digs and had two services aces compared to just one for the Deacs.
Miami took a 13-10 lead midway through the first set but thanks to a Beck kill and a couple of UM blocking errors, the Deacs went on a 6-1 run to take a 16-14 lead. But the `Canes responded with a 10-3 run of their own to take a commanding 24-19 advantage and would finish off the set 25-20.
UM put up a wall at the net in the first set, blocking eight Wake Forest attacks and in turn, hit a solid .349. Wake got five kills from Fornah in the opening frame.
The momentum stayed with the visitors in the second-set as Miami broke a 6-6 tied with an 8-0 run to build a 14-6 lead. The `Canes would hold that eight-point edge throughout the rest of the set and would cruise to a 25-15 victory. UM hit .455 in the second set with just one error. Salmon put away all three of her attacks for the Deacs while Jones dished out 11 assists and had five blocks in the second stanza.
The Deacons came out of the break with a little more life and road the hot arm of Kristen White to a 26-24 victory. White strung together three kills in a four-point span to give Wake a 12-8 lead that they never relinquish.
Miami tied the score a couple of times but the Deacs would finish the set with a pair of kills from Fornah and another from Beck. Wake hit .292 in the set as White finished six kills and Thornberry and Miller each had five digs.
The Deacons would then take an early 5-4 lead in the fourth but four-straight kills from Miami lead to Wake's first timeout at 8-5 in favor of the `Canes. Wake then scored five of the next six points to regain a 10-9 advantage and force a UM timeout.
The teams would continue to trade points until, with the score tied at 16-16, a kill from McGee sent Miami on a 3-0 run that once again forced the Deacs to stop the action. The run continued out of the break as the `Canes finished the set and the match on a 9-2 run.
The road doesn't get any easier for Wake as it welcomes 19th-ranked Florida State to town Friday night for key ACC matchup. The Seminoles are 13-2 on the year and 4-1 in the ACC while the Deacons need a win to keep pace in the conference.
