Volleyball downs Florida State, Virginia
By Vanessa St. Gerard
Old Gold and Black Reporter

The Demon Deacons are on a six-game winning streak after two big wins against the Florida State Seminoles and the Virginia Cavaliers on Nov. 3 and 4. With their record increasing to 10-5 in conference and 17-8 overall, the Deacs solidified their fourth-place standing in the ACC.

The volleyball team continued its five-match home stand, hosting Virginia Nov. 3 in Reynolds Gymnasium. For the second time this season, the Deacs swept the Cavs, 3-0. The Deacons totaled six blocks as a team, two assisted by sophomore right side hitter Ashley Fisher, to take the first game 30-27. Senior outside hitter Trina Maso de Moya posted four kills, while Fisher registered four digs and a service ace for the win.

The Deacons took the second game with strong serving from Maso de Moya and great protection at the net from sophomore middle blocker Jessica Hauff. Maso de Moya tallied five kills and a service ace while Hauff posted three kills for the Demon Deacons.
Junior setter Ashlee Phillips led the offense with 17 assists and six digs to take the second game 30-15.

The match ended with a third-game win by the Deacs with a 30-21 score. Six Deacon points were won off of sophomore outside hitter Katy de Roeck’s serve, including two service aces. For the match, she posted 11 kills, seven digs and two block assists.

Phillips led the offense with 40 assists and registered 11 digs and two blocks. Maso de Moya totaled 13 kills and nine digs while senior middle blocker Margaret Davidson had 11 kills, four blocks, and hit .625.

As a team, the Deacs hit a .324 percentage, while the Cavaliers only managed a .138 hitting percentage in the match. The Deacons also held a 49-36 edge in kills and a 53-37 advantage in digs.

Head Coach Valorie Baker was pleased with Phillip and de Roeck’s performance throughout the match.

“Katy had her best game of this season,” Baker said. “She pulled through offensively recording two service aces and as well we won six points off of her serve in the final game. Phillips did a nice job of distributing the ball. We are ready to finish out the season strong.”

On Nov. 4, the Seminoles traveled to Winston-Salem to face the Deacs. The Seminoles swept the Deacs in the first meeting between the two teams this season on Oct. 14.
This time around, though, the Deacs were ready for payback. In the five-game match, the Deacon squad climbed out of a hole to come back and win the last three games to take the match.

Florida State took an early 30-21 first-game win and went on to win game two by a score of 30-26. The Seminoles hit a combined .207 percentage compared to the Deacs’ .195 in the first two games of the match.

However, the Seminoles could not close the door on a season sweep of the Deacons after the Deacs turned the tables in the third game. Maso de Moya registered five kills and three digs to help the team notch its first win of the night, 30-28. de Roeck recorded five digs, and senior defensive specialist Amber Rieg served up an ace for the Demon Deacons.

The Deacs kept the momentum going and took the fourth game 30-27 with key blocking from Davidson. Sophomore outside hitter Sara Beth DeLisle contributed as well to the win, with two key kills and a dig on the outside.

The Deacons closed out the match with a final score of 15-8 against a stunned Seminole team. The win, just as the night before, was a total team effort, with four Deacs recording stats in double figures.

Maso de Moya was in double figures, tallying 26 kills and 29 digs for the night.
Davidson contributed 17 total kills and seven block assists to the winning effort. Fisher recorded 16 digs and de Roeck had 14 of her own.

Hauff posted eight kills, three digs and had three crucial blocks. Junior middle blocker Kim Stern subbed in and registered seven kills and two block assists as well.

After the match, Florida State Head Coach Cecile Reynaud said, “Wake has been playing great lately, and they continued that tonight.”

Baker was proud of her team’s focus and determination and echoed Reynaud’s remarks.
“I am very proud of the girls that came in and worked hard,” Baker said.

“Not only did they earn their win but, also, they worked for it. They deserved it.”

The Demon Deacons end their regular season this week with matches against Duke on Nov. 10, and 20th-ranked South Carolina on Nov. 11. The Deacons will host Duke in Reynolds Gymnasium at 6 p.m., before traveling to Columbia, S.C. to face the Gamecocks.