WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina – Junior Christi Laite recorded 18 kills and sophomore Morgan Kline added 13, but Wake Forest rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat UNCW, 3-2 (25-16, 18-25, 28-30, 25-14, 15-7), in collegiate volleyball action at the Deacon Invitational Friday at Reynolds Gym. The Demon Deacons evened their season mark at 1-1 with the five-set triumph while the Seahawks moved to 3-2. Both teams conclude their appearances in the Deacon Invitational Saturday with matches against Davidson and Winthrop. UNCW faces the Eagles at 10 a.m. and the Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. while Wake Forest takes on Davidson at Noon and Winthrop in the tournament nightcap at 7 p.m.
“I’m happy with how hard our team fought in games two and three, but we did not have an answer for their veteran middles, which had an outstanding match tonight,” said UNCW Head Coach Amy Bambenek. “Even with this outcome, I think our team turned a corner and now realize how good we can be if we can remain consistent and do the little things right every time. I was once again pleased with the production of Christi (Laite) and Morgan (Kline). We will be relying on them a lot this season to be our leaders on the floor and they stepped up tonight.”
In the first matchup between the two state rivals since the 2000 season, Kline and Laite combined to record 31 of UNCW’s 51 kills as the duo combined for a .287 hitting percentage for the match. Kline and Laite also tallied 11 and 10 digs, respectively, as both players finished with a double-double. Freshman setter Victoria Phillips dished out a match-best 43 assists.
