Oct. 25, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will look to get back on the winning track with a pair of matches up north against Maryland and Boston College. The Demon Deacons are set to take on the Terrapins on Friday at 7 p.m. and then face the Eagles on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Wake Forest enters the weekend 7-14 overall and 4-8 in the ACC. The Deacs have dropped five straight matches, all of which went four games. Wake is 2-5 on the road this season, including a 2-3 mark in conference play.

The Deacons have already had success against Maryland and Boston College this season. Wake Forest got back-to-back sweeps of the two squads Sept. 21-22 in Winston-Salem. The wins were the first two of three straight ACC sweeps by the Deacs.

Junior Natalie Mullikin is on the cusp of setting a new Wake Forest career record for block solos. Mullikin tied the all-time mark of 87, set by Jenny Kraner from 1984-86, last Saturday against Virginia Tech. She also ranks in the top four on Wake's career lists for total blocks, block assists and blocks per game.

Mullikin and several other Deacons are among the ACC's statistical leaders. Mullikin is in the conference's top ten in four categories. She ranks fifth in points (4.71 per game), sixth in kills (3.84), seventh in hitting percentage (.322) and ninth in blocks (1.25).

Freshman setter Kelsey Jones ranks fifth in the ACC in assists with 10.57 per game.

Fellow freshman Megan Thornberry, the Deacons' libero, is eighth in the league in digs with 4.12 per game.

As a team, Wake Forest ranks fifth in both blocks (2.60 per game) and digs (16.81).

Maryland comes in at 13-8 overall and 5-7 in the ACC. The Terps dropped both of their matches last weekend, falling at Georgia Tech in five games and at Clemson in three. Maryland is a perfect 8-0 in College Park this season.

Wake Forest has won five of the past seven meetings with Maryland, including each of the last four. The Deacons swept the season series with Maryland in 2006 for the first time since 2001. The Terps hold a 20-12 all-time advantage in the series.

Boston College, who will face Duke on Friday before entertaining Wake on Sunday, enters the weekend 10-12 overall and 4-7 in the ACC. The Eagles have lost three straight and six of their past eight matches. However, BC is 8-1 at home this season. Boston College is coming off a pair of three-game losses at Clemson and at Georgia Tech last weekend.

With its Sept. 21 defeat of BC, Wake Forest now leads the all-time series 4-1. Last year, the two teams split the season series with each winning at home.

Wake Forest returns to Reynolds Gymnasium the following weekend to face Florida State and Miami. The Deacons will take on the Seminoles on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. and then face the Hurricanes the following evening at 6 p.m.