Miami Falls Short of Wake Forest, 3-1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The University of Miami volleyball team fell short in its first Atlantic Coast Conference match of season, suffering a 3-1 setback to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Friday night at Varsity Arena.
Miami (7-4, 0-1 ACC) was led on offense by freshman Grace Lopez, who totaled a career-best 22 kills in the contest. Sophomore Flormarie Heredia Colon and graduate Janice Leao joined Lopez in double-digits with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
Wake Forest (10-2, 1-0 ACC) jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in set one, but the Hurricanes responded with a 10-0 run, highlighted by three consecutive aces from Lopez to make it 13-7, Hurricanes. Miami maintained its lead for the remainder of the opening set, winning the first set, 25-21.
The second set was a tightly contested affair as neither team took more than a three-point lead during the entire frame. The set featured 14 ties, but Wake Forest ultimately pulled away late in the set, 25-23, due to a pair of attacking errors by Miami.
Miami and Wake Forest traded points to start set three until the Hurricanes put together a 7-1 run midway through the set to take an 18-13 lead. However, Wake Forest responded with an 8-1 run of its own to regain the advantage, 24-22. Lopez’s 16th kill of the night pulled Miami to within one, 24-23, but the Demon Deacons held on for the 25-23 set-three victory.
Wake Forest carried its momentum into set four, taking an early 5-1 lead in the frame. The final set featured four lead changes, but the home team prevailed in the end, clinching the match with a 25-20 set-four win.
The Hurricanes will stay on the road and travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech on Sept. 24. First serve is set for 12 p.m. and the match will air on ACC Network.
