Sept. 28, 2007

Virginia 3, Georgia Tech 2

ATLANTA, Ga. - After dropping the first two games, the Virginia volleyball team (8-5, 3-1 ACC) rallied for a 3-2 comeback win Friday to hand Georgia Tech its first conference loss of the season. The Cavaliers won the fifth and deciding game 15-12 in front of 1,735 fans at O'Keefe Gymnasium.

"This was one of the best wins in my tenure," head coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said following the match. "It was so exiting to watch us come together in game three after being beat up so much in game one. I am so proud of the effort and it was a great way to start off the weekend. There is a lot of potential on this team and when we play with our hearts we can do a lot of things."

The Yellow Jackets started off strong, dominating the first game 30-16 and pulling away in game two, 30-22. It would have been easy for Virginia to toss in the towel, but instead the `Hoos decided to make a game of it.

Wake Forest 3, Miami 0

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Wake Forest swept its third straight ACC opponent for the first time in program history with a three-game defeat of Miami Friday evening at the Knight Sports Complex. The Demon Deacons rolled past the Hurricanes 30-18, 30-25, 30-26.

Wake moves to 6-7 overall and 3-1 in the ACC, while Miami drops to 8-5 and 2-2 in league play.

The Deacons won for the first time in the state of Florida since 2003 and picked up their third consecutive conference sweep. Wake Forest downed Boston College and Maryland last weekend in Winston-Salem and continued the momentum in Coral Gables, marking the program's best-ever three-match ACC stretch.

The last time the Deacs swept three opponents in a row was Oct. 25-28, 2003, when Wake defeated Florida State, Virginia and North Carolina A&T.

Maryland 3, North Carolina 1

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Beth Gillming recorded 15 kills and had 24 digs, while Bethany Springer had a match-high 33 digs as the University of Maryland defeated North Carolina, 3-1, in an Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball match played Friday before 655 fans at the Comcast Center Pavilion.

Maryland improved its record to 9-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, while the Tar Heels fell to 5-8 overall and 1-3 in the league. The win came in the Terrapins' first home match in conference play this season.

Maryland won the first two games 30-26 and 30-22, but lost the third game 30-28 after rallying from a late six-point deficit. The Terrapins closed out the match with a 30-22 victory in the fourth game.

Duke 3, Florida State 0

DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 14 Duke volleyball team swept Florida State 3-0 Friday evening at Tully Gym to remain atop the ACC standings.

Duke (9-3, 4-0 ACC) held Florida State to a .126 hitting percentage while forcing 22 attack errors and 15 service errors. With the win, Duke has defeated 14 consecutive ACC opponents dating back to 2006 and currently boasts the best record in the ACC.

Senior Carrie DeMange paced Duke's offense with 11 kills on 27 attacks for a .259 attack percentage while picking up 12 digs for a double-double. Sophomore Rachael Moss also reached double figures with 10 kills, while juniors Sue Carls and Jourdan Norman turned in a combined 11 kills and hitting percentages over .500. Senior libero Jenny Shull matched DeMange with 12 digs for the team lead.

Clemson 3, Virginia Tech 0

CLEMSON, S.C. - Senior Meghan Steiner recorded a team-best 13 kills and five Clemson players hit above .300 for the match as the Tiger volleyball swept Virginia Tech, 3-0 (30-24, 30-20, 30-26), on Friday night at Jervey Gym for its sixth straight victory.

Overall, Clemson now boasts a 10-2 record while improving to 3-0 in conference play.

The Hokies dropped to 7-7 for the year with a 1-3 mark against ACC opponents.

Tiger setter Kelsey Murphy tallied 41 assists while guiding the Clemson offense to a .366 team hitting percentage, its second highest figure of the year. Murphy, Danielle Hepburn, Leslie Mansfield and Lia Proctor all posted hitting percentages over .300 against Virginia Tech along with Steiner's match-high .667 figure. Defensively, Didem Ege increased her league-leading digs per game average to 5.67 with 20 in the three-game contest.