Sept. 6, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest is set to play its 2007 home opener on Friday, as the Demon Deacons host the annual Black & Gold Challenge this weekend at Reynolds Gymnasium. Wake will take on Dayton, Jacksonville and Radford in the two-day invitational.

The Deacons will open with No. 23-ranked Dayton on Friday at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Wake Forest will then take on Radford at 12:30 p.m. and Jacksonville at 7 p.m.

Wake comes in to the tournament looking for its first win of the season after going 0-3 at the Best Western/Sycamore Inn Classic last weekend in Oxford, Ohio. The Deacs fell in five games to Pittsburgh and Miami (Ohio) and in three games to No. 14 Michigan.

Junior Jessica Furlong was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 4.54 kills per game and 2.62 digs per game on the weekend. Furlong turned in her first two double-doubles of the season against Pittsburgh and Miami.

Dayton comes to Winston-Salem after entering the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history. The Flyers are a perfect 7-0 following their home sweep of Cincinnati on Tuesday. Last weekend in West Lafayette, Ind., Dayton won the Mortar Board Premier hosted by Purdue. The Flyers dispatched of nationally-ranked Purdue in three games and also defeated Utah and North Carolina to take home the title.

Friday will be a re-match from last year for Dayton and Wake Forest. The Deacons participated in the Marriott Flyer Invitational Sept. 8-9 in Dayton last season. Wake went 0-3 on the weekend, including a three-game loss to Dayton on Saturday.

The Flyers lead the all-time series 2-1. Wake Forest's last defeat of Dayton came on Sept. 20, 1985, at the Morehead State Tournament.

Radford enters the weekend 2-6 overall. The Highlanders have lost three straight matches, going winless at the Phoenix Classic last weekend at Elon. Radford's two wins this season have been three-game sweeps of North Carolina A&T and Wofford.

Wake Forest leads the all-time series with Radford 8-3. Saturday's match will be the first meeting since the Deacons swept the Highlanders 3-0 on Sept. 19, 2003. Wake has won six of the last seven meetings, dating back to the 1986 season.

Jacksonville comes in 2-5 on the year. The Dolphins, however, have won two of their last three matches. JU went 2-1 last weekend at The Loop Pizza Grill Invitational in Jacksonville. The Dolphins defeated The Citadel and Providence in three games each but fell in five games to Presbyterian. Jacksonville has already faced one ACC team this season, losing at Miami in four games on Aug. 25.

Wake Forest and Jacksonville have met just once before with the Dolphins coming out on top. JU downed Wake in four games on Oct. 20, 1984, at the Central Florida Tournament.

The Deacons will wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule Sept. 14-15 at the University of Houston Tournament. Wake will take on Rice, Stephen F. Austin and Houston over the weekend. The Deacs will then begin their 22-game ACC schedule Sept. 18 at Duke.

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