Deacons Top Eagles in Five-Set Thriller

Sunday, September 30

Winston-Salem, NC

1:00PM

Boston College

12-4, 2-2ACC

Wake Forest

6-10, 1-3ACC

Wake Forest

Photo by: Talia DeLuca

September 30, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score

BC drops 3-2 match in extra points

By: Athletic Communications

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Boston College volleyball team came from behind and forced a decisive fifth set against Wake Forest, but fell in extra points to the Demon Deacons, 21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-17, 21-19, on Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Gymnasium.

The Eagles (12-4, 2-2 ACC) hit .234 percent (61 kills – 24 errors – 158 total attempts), just barely edged by Wake Forest's .236 clip (65 – 26 – 165). BC had the slight advantage in digs, 64-58, and the teams were dead even with sideout percentages of 62 percent. In the end the Deacons (6-10, 1-3 ACC) gained their ground at the net, out blocking BC 11-6.

Junior Cat Balido led the offense with 16 kills, followed by senior McKenna Goss and sophomore Clare Naughton with 14 kills apiece. Junior Jane DeJarld led the squad with 31 assists.

Junior Makenzie Morrison tallied a match-high 26 digs, adding two of BC's four service aces, while sophomore Amaka Chukwujekwu's three blocks led the Eagles.

Wake Forest 3, Boston College 2
September 30, 2018
Winston-Salem, N.C. | Reynold's Gym

BC HIGHLIGHTS
- Three Eagles hit in the double-digits, led by Cat Balido with 16. McKenna Goss and Clare Naughton each hit 14 kills.
- Freshman Jewel Strawberry narrowly missed the double-digit cut with nine kills.
- In the fourth set, BC had an impressive 77 percent sideout rate, going 14-for-18.
- BC's 61 kills were the most by the team this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 – The Eagles kept a slight lead through the beginning rallies, leading 8-7 through the first 15. The teams traded short runs with BC holding control, but never leading by more than two points, through 16-14. Wake Forest recorded three-straight to take back a 17-16 lead before BC went on a 5-1 run to lead, 21-18. The Deacons came back swinging, rattling off seven unanswered scores to win the first set, 25-21.

Set 2 – BC came back with a 25-20 win in the second set to tie up the match, hitting .225 percent through the frame. After the Eagles got off to a 4-0 start, Wake Forest went 8-4 to tie it at eight all. Boston College took a 4-1 run to widen the lead 12-9 on back-to-back kills from McKenna Goss, then the Deacons came back with a 6-2 split to lead 15-14 at the timeout. The Eagles rebounded 8-4 to lead 22-19, forcing Wake Forest to use both timeouts in the span. BC went 3-1 out of the break to win the set, 25-20.

Set 3 – Wake Forest held a small 6-4 lead, but the Eagles fought back and an ace from junior Jane DeJarld tied it up 7-7. The Deacons went 5-2 to lead 12-9 before the teams split the next six evenly (15-12). Wake Forest used a timeout, then went 10-7 from the break to win, 25-19.

Set 4 – BC refused to go down without a fight, winning the fourth set 25-17 to force a decisive fifth frame. The teams started point-for-point in the fourth until back-to-back kills put Wake Forest up 6-4. The Eagles took four of the next six to tie it 8-8 before Wake Forest hit a 3-2 run to lead 11-10. Boston College regained a 15-14 lead on a 5-3 surge, then went 2-1 out of a timeout to force the Deacons to regroup. A 4-1 BC run drove the Deacons back to the bench trailing 21-16, and BC won four of the final five points to tie the match, 2-2.

Set 5 – Appropriate for the battle that had happened in the first four sets, the teams fought to extra points before Wake Forest clinched the 3-2 victory. BC ran to a 4-0 lead in the set's start, leading 8-3 at the switch. Wake Forest went 6-3 to trail by just two, 11-9, then went 2-0 out of the BC timeout to tie it 11-11. The Eagles went two-for-three to lead 13-12 and force a Deacon timeout, but a 4-3 Wake Forest run knotted the set back up at 16 all. Battling point-for-point, the teams went well into extras before Wake Forest took three in a row to win 21-19.

UP NEXT
Boston College hits the road for the second weekend in a row, traveling to Virginia and Pittsburgh for ACC matches. The Eagles face the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 before taking on No. 8 Pitt at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.