The Charlotte 49ers volleyball team dropped to 9-6 Tuesday night when they fell to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-4) in three sets: 25-23, 25-22 and 25-15 at Halton Arena. Charlotte opens conference play when they take on the George Washington Colonials on Saturday.
“I’ve been really proud of our team throughout the entire non-conference season,” said Charlotte head coach Chris Redding. “I think we have to do a few things better with our communication but overall I think we’re doing a great job.”
The two teams started the match on an even basis and found themselves tied at six, before Wake forest ripped off five of the next six points to take an 11-7 first-set lead. Charlotte didn’t waste any time in countering though. Fueled by a Kara Raker kill, the Niners went on a 6-0 scoring run and found themselves with a 13-11 lead that caused a Wake Forest timeout.
Following the timeout, Wake Forest pulled ahead and looked to be in control of the set with a 23-19 lead. However, a service error by Wake’s Kadija Fornah gave Charlotte hope and brought the Niners to within three. Following Fornah’s error, Charlotte tallied the next three points to tie the set at 23. An attack error by Charlotte’s Leah Leventhal and a kill by Wake’s Carlin Salmon gave the Deacons the first set 25-23.
Redding preached prior to the season that the Niners would play fast volleyball, and Tuesday night, he thinks they did.
“We’re doing pretty good in that department,” Redding said. “I would almost say it’s like the spread offense in football. We’re trying to come at them in a lot of different ways and that will be an ever-growing process through the entire season. We’ve got to keep getting better and keep getting smarter.”
Charlotte again played tough volleyball in the second set and matched the Demon Deacons point-for-point until the two teams found themselves tied up at nine. The Niners fell in a bit of a hole after a 4-0 run by the Deacons but again clawed their way back into the set and tied it up at 20 on a kill by Leventhal, courtesy of a Sheri Davis assist. Charlotte took the lead on Wake at 21-20, but lost five of the next six points and dropped the set 25-22.
The Niners once again fell behind at the start of the third set behind a rash of service and attack errors. The Niners were only tied once, at 1-1, and fell into a deep 8-3 hole to start the set. The Demon Deacons proceeded to put the clamps down on the Niners, never allowing Charlotte to get within less than six (17-11). Wake Forest won eight of the final 12 points to drop the Niners to 9-6 and give them their first loss in Halton Arena this season.
Charlotte was once again led in the kill department by specialist Bianca Rouse, who accounted for 10 of the Niners’ 32 kills on the night—she also added seven digs. Junior libero Abbie Rees led the Niners in digs for the night with 12 but was followed closely by Sheri Davis with 11.
Kristen White led the Demon Deacons with a double-double, accounting for 12 kills and 10 digs. Fornah also contributed nicely for Wake, scoring seven kills and 11 digs. Libero Megan Thornberry had a match-high 13 digs for Wake Forest.
Even with the sour taste left in their mouth to end the non-conference season, Redding is staying positive heading into Saturday’s match-up with the Colonials.
“Right now in my mind we’re 0-0 heading into conference play,” Redding said. “I feel great about our group. We have a very special group of players, they respond to everything I tell them, even when I’m dumb and don’t do a good job. Preseason is over now, now it’s time for conference and postseason play.”
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