August 31, 2002

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Virginia Tech volleyball team fell to Wake Forest in the final match of the Deacon Invitational, 3-2, Saturday night at Reynolds Gym. Game scores were 19-30, 30-27, 16-30, 30-27, 7-15.

After losing the first game, the Hokies battled back to win the second game, 30-27. The Demon Deacons came back and won the third game, but in the fourth game Tech was able to take advantage of mistakes by Wake Forest to force a decisive fifth game. But in the final game, Tech hit -.250 while the Deacons hit .333 to claim the match.

The Hokie offense was led by sophomore Annie Spicer (Barrington, Ill.) and senior Sarah Rogers (Marietta, Ga.) who recorded 11 kills each. Spicer also had nine digs. Senior Ana Lang (Cuba, N.Y.) had nine kills, three service aces, and 11 digs. Freshman libero Ashley Bayer (Corona del Mar, Calif.) tied Lang for the team high with 11 digs.

Senior Cheryl Stinson (Ottawa, Ontario) was named to the Deacon Invitational all-tournament team. In three matches, Stinson recorded 30 kills on 65 attacks, with just six errors for a hitting percentage of .369. She also had 24 digs and 11 total blocks. With her four block assists in the match against Wake Forest, Stinson moved into fifth place on the school's career block list with 317 total blocks.

The Hokies (1-2) will be back in action Friday at the Akron Invitational in Akron, Ohio, taking on Oakland (Mich.) at 5 p.m.