Sept. 1, 2006

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Wake Forest volleyball team dropped its season opener to Colorado State in three games 30-17, 30-27, 30-25 Friday evening at the Coors Invitational.

With the loss, the Demon Deacons open the year 0-1, while the Rams even out their record at 2-2.

Redshirt-sophomore Natalie Mullikin led the way for the Deacs with 10 kills, two block solos and a block assist. It was the ninth time in Mullikin's career that she posted a double-digit kill total.

Redshirt-sophomore Jessica Furlong led Wake Forest in digs with 11, while senior libero Natasha Schaefer was right behind with 10.

Senior Jenna Doane and junior Jackie Lucas each chipped in three block assists on the night. Lucas also added a block solo, while Doane had a pair of service aces.

Freshman setter Dylan Faulkner dished out 28 assists in her collegiate debut.

As a team, the Deacons hit just .045 for the match, while the Rams hit .256.

The Rams came out hot in game one, hitting .500 as a team with 16 kills and just three errors in 26 attempts. The Demon Deacons, on the other hand, could not muster enough offensive firepower to keep up with the Rams. Wake Forest had just eight kills with nine errors in the opening game.

The Deacs rebounded in game two and were able to take an early 9-6 lead. However, Colorado State rallied with five unanswered points to take an 11-9 lead that it would never relinquish.

After trailing by as many as five points, the Deacons staged a late rally to pull within 29-27, but a kill by Tessa Nelson put the second game away for the Rams.

In game three, CSU scored the first six points to take the early lead. The Deacs rallied with a 9-3 run of their own to tie the game at 9-9.

The two teams then traded points until Wake Forest was able to break through for its first lead of the game, 19-18, courtesy of block assists from Lucas and Doane.

After a Michael Faulkner kill gave Wake a 20-18 lead, Colorado State went on a 12-5 run to take the game and complete the sweep of the Deacs.

The season-opening loss was just the third in the past 11 seasons for Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons return to action tomorrow morning when they take on James Madison at 10 a.m. MT. Wake will then return in the evening to face Florida Atlantic at 6 p.m. MT.