Sept. 23, 2002
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The Wake Forest volleyball team (5-7) opens conference play this week with a pair of road games at Duke (12-3) on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Durham, N.C. and at Florida State (8-3) on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Demon Deacons are looking to even their record at 7-7 with a pair of wins this week. Last week, Wake Forest hosted the Black & Gold Challenge and went 2-1, sweeping UAB and Winthrop before falling to San Diego State.
Sophomore middle blocker Kim Stern led Wake Forest last weekend at the Black & Gold Challenge, hitting .463 over eight games. She put away 25 kills to go with four service aces. Named to the all-tournament team for her efforts, Stern is second on the squad with 2.65 kills a game and 0.82 blocks per game.
Senior setter Ashlee Phillips had 96 assists over eight games last weekend to go with 20 kills, 12 digs and five blocks. She was also picked to the all-tournament team. The school's all-time leader in assists, Phillips is ranked fifth in the ACC this season with 11.28 assists per game and fourth with a .353 attack percentage.
Head coach Valorie Baker mixed up her lineup this past weekend at the Black & Gold Challenge. Tarah Shelton got the starting call at outside hitter and performed well. The sophomore had 13 kills, 19 digs and two blocks in nine games. Freshman defensive specialist A.J. Nicholas played eight games as the libero. She had 29 digs.
Freshman middle blocker Christy Williams saw increased playing time and started against San Diego State. She had 11 kills, six digs and five blocks for the weekend. Sophomore middle blocker Morgan Havig saw her first action of the season against Winthrop and had three kills to go with one block. Freshman setter Erin Borhart spelled Phillips in the final games of both the Winthrop and UAB matches. Borhart registered 23 assists over the two games.
Valerie Rydberg and Jessica Hauff turned in solid performances again for the Demon Deacons at the Black & Gold Challenge. Rydberg, a redshirt freshman outside hitter, posted 24 kills, four blocks and a team-leading 30 digs over 10 games. She leads the team with 2.83 kills a game and 2.69 digs per game. Hauff, a junior middle blocker, led the team with seven blocks over nine games and also had 21 kills. She leads the club with 0.96 blocks per game this season.
Duke leads the series with Wake Forest 10-9 and Florida State leads 11-3 against the Demon Deacons.
