Aug. 28, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM - Wake Forest is set to play its 2008 home opener on Friday, as the Demon Deacons host the Deacon Invitational this weekend at Reynolds Gymnasium. The Invitational is also the Wake Forest Fall Sports Spotlight for the opening weekend.

The Deacons will open with Davidson on Friday at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Wake Forest will then take on Norfolk State at 12:30 p.m. and Winthrop at 7 p.m.

Each week, one Olympic sport (field hockey, volleyball, men's or women's soccer) event will be selected as the Fall Sports Spotlight for that week. The event will be selected each week based on a number of criteria including opponents, promotions, and/or magnitude of the contest.

This week, the Deacon Invitational will feature special promotions that include Qdoba Trivia -- Question of the Game, Pig Pickin's Deacon Raffle, Fan's Serving Contest and Volleyball Musical Chairs.

Wake enters the Deacon Invitational anxious to put a disappointing 2007 season behind them. Graduate student Natalie Mullikin and senior Ashley Homitz return to lead the squad again in 2008.

Mullikin is a two-time All-ACC performer and was named to the Preseason All-ACC team for the third straight season in 2008. Homitz played her first full season in 2007 and will be the Deacs starting right side hitter. She was third on the team in 2007 with 68 total blocks and recorded 170 kills.

Davidson will start the season after being picked to finish third in the South Division of the Southern Conference by the leagues head coaches. The Wildcats return eight letterwinners and five starters from a 2007 squad that went 12-20 overall.

Friday's match up with Davidson will be the first meeting since the 2006 Black & Gold Challenge. The Deacs got the best of Davidson that day in a thrilling five-set match. Overall, this will be just the fifth meeting between the two schools, with Wake holding a 3-1 advantage.

Norfolk State brings a young team into Reynolds Gym this weekend. The Spartans return just three players from last year's team that reached the MEAC tournament for the first time since 2004. However, the three players that do return were arguably the Spartans three best players from 2007.

The will be the first meeting between Norfolk State and Wake Forest.

Winthrop is coming off a 20-11 2007 season which included an 11-1 slate and a regular season co-Big South Conference championship. The Eagles will send a young team into battle this season but they do return five starters and seven letterwinners.

In the Eagles last trip to Winston-Salem, they left with the 2006 Black & Gold Challenge team title with a perfect 3-0 mark. Winthrop senior Shannon Sitzmann, the 2007 Big South Player of the Year, was named the tournament MVP.

Wake Forest and Winthrop met in the championship match, with the Eagles pulling out a hard-fought 3-2 victory. The teams also met in 2004 and 2002, splitting the two matches. Prior to those meetings, the teams met 13 times from 1973-86 with Winthrop winning eight times. Overall, the Eagles lead the all-time series 10-6.

The Deacons boast a 28-16 record in the previous 12 Deacon Invitationals. Wake Forest has also won five team titles, including the last two in 2003 and 2004.

Wake will head to the Adidas Classic hosted by Indiana next weekend, Sept. 5-6. The Deacs will face Indiana, Louisville and Valparaiso.