Wake Forest University
Elon
Wake Forest Sweeps Final Day of Deacon Classic
9/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
WCU Final Stats | WCU Final Stats (PDF)
| Elon Final Stats | Elon Final Stats (PDF)
By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeVolleyball)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest volleyball team closed out the final day of the Deacon Classic with wins over Western Carolina and Elon on Saturday in Reynolds Gym. Jazmen Russell and Caroline Wolf were named to the All-Tournament Team for their fantastic performances during the Deacon Classic.
Wake Forest improves to 10-4 overall after sweeping the final day of the tournament. Their matches against Western Carolina and Elon concludes the non-conference portion of the team's 2014 schedule, as they open up ACC play on Friday, September 26, against the Virginia Tech Hokies at 6:30 p.m. in Reynolds Gym.
Wake Forest 3, Western Carolina 1
Russell recorded a double-double, tallying 26 kills on 50 total hits and 13 digs, as the Demon Deacons defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts 3-1 in the first match on day two of the Deacon Classic at Reynolds Gym.
In addition to Russell for the Deacs, four others notched double-digit kills as Kylie Long had 16, Matalee Reed recorded 13, and Ashlee Rusk added 11. Wolf had an outstanding performance as the libero as she had a match-high 29 digs.
Western Carolina was led by Caitlin Piechota who had 13 kills for the match. Jordan Timmermann was the other Catamount to record double-digit kills with 10.
The Catamounts took the first lead of the game winning the first set 25-20. Wake Forest took the first timeout of the game trailing 15-11 after a kill from Piechota. The Deacs would bring the set within three cutting Western Carolina's lead to 18-15 after a kill from Rusk, but after a timeout, the Catamounts created some separation gaining a 23-19 lead. They would go on to win the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Piechota led the way with a set-high six kills.
In the second set, it started off close with the score staying within a point. Western Carolina called the first timeout of the set when the Deacs gained a 14-12 lead. The Catamounts responded with a 6-3 run to take an 18-17 lead forcing Murczek to call for time. Wake Forest responded with a 4-1 run to capped off by a kill by Reed to give the Deacs a 21-19 lead.
The Catamounts made another run and had set point 24-23 and the Deacs called for time. Russell went off out of the timeout scoring on three consecutive kills to give the Demon Deacons a 26-24 set victory. Russell had 12 kills with a .800 hitting percentage and had no errors. Wake Forest scored 23 of its 26 points on kills and tied the match 1-1 with the second set win.
The Demon Deacons got off to a hot start in the third set taking a 8-4 lead making the Catamounts call for time. Western Carolina was able to cut the Wake Forest lead to 15-13, but the Deacs went on a 4-0 run to extend their lead 19-13. Wake Forest closed out the set 25-17 and took a 2-1 lead in the match. Russell had six kills and Long added five.
The fourth set was a close one, but the Deacs would take a three point lead midway through the set 18-15. The Catamounts cut the lead to one with a 2-0 run, but Wake then outscored Western Carolina 7-5 to take the set 25-22 and win the match 3-1.
Wake Forest 3, Elon 1
In the second match of the day, Russell (16) and Reed (12) both had double-digit kills as the Demon Deacons defeated the Elon Phoenix 3-1 in the final match of the Deacon Classic.
Rusk and Long also had solid performances for Wake Forest as they got nine and eight kills respectively. Leading the way for Elon was Sydney Busa who recorded 10 kills in the match.
The first set was close in the beginning, but the Deacs created a three-point separation 12-9 after Reed's kill. After getting a point and then recording back-to-back errors, Elon called a timeout trailing 14-10. Russell answered the timeout with a service ace to set the tone the rest of the set. Wake Forest had its largest lead of the set 21-15, but despite a late Phoenix run, the Deacs closed out the set 25-19. Rusk tied with Chanelle Smith of Elon with a set-high four kills.
Elon took the second set of the match in a tight battle. The Phoenix held on to a slender lead early on, but the Deacs tied up the match 12-12 midway through after a kill from Long and an attack error by Busa. Wake Forest then called their first timeout of the set when Elon created a three-point cushion at 16-13.
The Demon Deacons tied the set three more times at 18-18, 19-19, and 22-22, but the Phoenix were able to pull away late and an attack error at the end doomed the Deacs giving Elon a 25-22 set victory. Busa had a set-high five kills for the Phoenix.
Wake Forest got off to a hot start in the third taking a 5-1 lead early and after Reed's ace, Elon called timeout. The Deacs then made the Phoenix take their second timeout early with a 12-5 lead after two consecutive errors by the visitors. The hosts then pushed their lead even futher by 10 points at 16-6, and would close out the set quickly with a 25-14 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was close early on before the Deacs took a three point lead 11-8 after an Elon ball handling error. They would then make the set 15-9 and the Deacs' run forced a timeout from the Phoenix. The hosts would not lay down closing out the final set 25-18 and winning the match 3-1 to close out the Deacon Classic.
All Tournament Team
Jessie Vicic (MVP) - Winthrop
Keaupono Fey - Winthrop
Alina Sopizhuk - Winthrop
Jazmen Russell - Wake Forest
Caroline Wolf - Wake Forest
Jo-Leigh Vervelde - Western Carolina
Sydney Busa - Elon
