North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Volleyball Wraps Up Regular Season on the Road
11/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2003
The 2003 regular season will come to an end this weekend for the NC State volleyball team. The Wolfpack will play at Duke, 7 p.m. on Friday night, and then at Wake Forest Saturday night at 6 p.m.
Leading NC State (7-22,0-14) offensively is junior middle blocker Maya Mapp, who enters the weekend second in kills with 228, while her attack percentage of .293 ranks first on the team. Also stepping up are junior Melanie Rowe and sophomore outside hitter Adeola Kosoko. The two have combined for 267 kills thus far.
Anchoring the Wolfpack's defense is senior libero Caroline Frede. Already surpassing her best season total for digs, Frede looks to add to her team-leading 336 digs. Her average of 3.39 digs per game ranks eighth in the conference. Also helping on the defensive side of the net is the combo of Mapp and fellow middle blocker Paige Gilliam. Mapp is first on the team in total blocks with 93, while Gilliam has made her name known by opponents this season, racking up an impressive 87 total blocks of her own.
The Blue Devils (9-17, 5-9) feature two players with over 250 kills each. Outside hitter Tassy Rufai leads the team with 290 kills, while middle blocker Krista Dill is closely behind with 270 kills of her own. Dill also has stepped up her play on both sides of the net, as she has also notched a team-best 149 total blocks, giving her the second-best average in the ACC with 1.55 blocks per game. Meanwhile Duke's setters Arielle Linderman and Stephanie Istvan have dished out 693 and 438 assists respectively.
Leading the way for Wake Forest (19-8, 8-6) is outside hitter Valerie Rydberg, whose 348 kills isn't just a team best, but seats her fourth in the conference with an average of four kills a game. Rydberg also leads the Demon Deacons in digs with 308. Middle blocker Christy Williams is the team's leading blocker with 81 total blocks, while setter Erin Borhart will look to add onto her already impressive total of 1,113 assists on the year.
