Wake Forest University
Winthrop
Wake Forest Falls in Deacon Classic Opener
9/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF)
By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeVolleyball)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest volleyball team fell to the Winthrop Eagles 3-1 on Friday night to begin the Deacon Classic in Reynolds Gym. Despite a match-high 20 kills and three total blocks from Jazmen Russell, the Deacs were unable to overcome Winthrop's come-from-behind win.
Wake Forest falls to 8-4 overall for the season with the loss. The Eagles improve to 7-6 overall with the victory.
In addition to Russell for the Deacs, Matalee Reed was the second player to record double-digit kills as she finished with 11 kills. Kylie Long also had a solid performance with nine kills and Brianna Lynch recorded seven for Wake Forest.
Winthrop was led by Rachel Lenz who notched a team-high 15 kills for the Eagles. Two other players recorded double-digit kills as Brianna Gray had 11 and Nikki Drost had 10.
The Demon Deacons dominated the first set as they had a .444 hitting percentage and had 15 kills to win the set 25-18. Long had five kills in the set. Russell added four kills and Reed recorded three kills. The Deacs forced the Eagles to call their first timeout with a 12-7 lead. The Demon Deacons outscored the Eagles 13-11 to close out the set 25-18 and take a 1-0 lead.
The second set was close with the Eagles inching out a 27-25 win. Winthrop was first to call timeout late in the set as the Deacs held a 21-18 lead. Winthrop used a 8-3 to close out the set and tie the match 1-1.
In the third set, it would prove to be a close one again. The Deacs held at most a two-point lead during the beginning of the set, but they called timeout after Winthrop tied it 16-16 midway through the third. Winthrop took the lead and had set point 24-23, but a service error tied the set. Winthrop would close it out on an error by the Deacs, giving the Eagles a 26-24 set win, and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Eagles would go to work in the final set to close out the match. Despite Winthrop only hitting .188 in the set, they played stellar defense to close out the match with a 25-15 set win. The closest the Deacs got within the Eagles was a point at 15-14. Russell had multiple kills in the set, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles pulled away and took a 3-1 victory in the match.
The Demon Deacons return to action tomorrow for day two of the Deacon Classic in Reynolds Gym. They face the Western Carolina Catamounts at 1 p.m., and close out the tournament against the Elon Phoenix at 7 p.m.
