Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Miami
Wake Forest Fights, Falls to Miami, 3-1
11/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeVolleyball)
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Demon Deacons fell to the Miami Hurricanes, 3-1, on Friday at LJVM Coliseum.
Kylie Long recorded 22 kills in the contest, two shy of her career high 24 that she set against Loyola Chicago earlier this season. The 22 kills also mark her highest since she tallied 23 at Notre Dame on Oct. 2. Long came out hot and recorded nine kills in the first set alone. She continued the impressive performance with eight kills in the second set, three in the third and two in the fourth to end with 22 kills and a .260 hitting percentage.
The match was also senior night for Hanna Lee. Lee has played in 87 matches and 283 sets in her time at Wake Forest while her .278 career attack percentage entering tonight is tied for 13th in program history. Lee was honored in a pregame ceremony that was attended by her immediately family.
Miami (14-15, 8-9 ACC) got off to a 3-0 start thanks to solid serving from Hannah Sorensen and quickly forced Wake Forest (9-19, 5-12 ACC) into a timeout. However, Miami kept the pressure and kept Wake Forest scoreless while gaining a 6-0 lead. Sorensen eventually hit into a service error to give the Demon Deacons their first point of the match. From there, the Deacs rallied hard and went on a 5-2 run to bring the score within one at 10-9. Wake Forest kept the pressure and eventually forced Miami into a timeout. Out of the break, the teams traded points until Wake Forest finally sealed the set with extras, 26-24. The set victory marked the first time in the month of November that the Deacs won a set. Long recorded nine kills on no errors for a .750 clip in the set victory.
The second set proved to be volatile, complete with 11 tied scores and seven lead changes. The Deacs struck early when they jumped out a 2-0 start but Miami came back, tied the score at four, took the lead, extended the lead and forced Wake Forest into a timeout down 8-5. After the break, the Hurricanes stood their ground until a combination of an ace from Caroline Rassenfoss, a kill from Hanna Lee and an attack error from Miami gave the Deacs a 15-14 lead and forced a Miami timeout. From there, the squads kept it tight but it was Miami that would ultimately take the set, 30-28, to enter the break tied at one each. Katie Moore tallied two blocks in the set while Rassenfoss had six kills and only two errors.
Coming out of the break, Miami steadily climbed to a 14-7 lead and forced Wake Forest to quickly burn both if its timeouts. The Deacs fought hard and went on a 7-2 run to bring the score within three at 22-19 but the Hurricanes would keep that three-point lead to finish off the third set with a 25-22 victory.
The fourth set was another tight set. Wake Forest took the early lead but Miami came right back. The Hurricanes went on a run to force the Demon Deacons to take a timeout down 8-5. From there, the Hurricanes continued to fight and forced the Deacs into another timeout down 12-7. However, after the second timeout, the Deacs went on a 5-3 run to bring the score within three. The Deacs continued to fight for every point but the Hurricanes took the fourth set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Rassenfoss tallied 19 kills for the Demon Deacons with a .275 hitting percentage to assist Long in leading the offense. Caroline Wolf anchored the defense with 17 digs while Moore recorded four blocks.
The Demon Deacons close out the 2016 home season Sunday, Nov. 20 against No. 17 Florida State. The match is set for 1 p.m. at the Summit School.
