
Wake Forest Sweeps Notre Dame at Home
10/15/2021 9:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest volleyball team swept the Notre Dame Irish in three sets for the first time in program history.
The Deacs were led by Ashley Slater's 13 kills and Kamryn Malloy's 11, along with Andrea Fuentes' 36 assists. Olivia Franke finished with eight kills for a team-high .312 hitting percentage and also registered a team-high five blocks. Malloy and Delaney McSweeney each chipped in three blocks. Kalani Whillock led the Wake Forest passing game with 19 digs and 29 receptions for a .967 reception percentage. The Wake Forest defense held Notre Dame to a .149 hitting percentage for the match.
How It Happened
The first set stayed close until the Deacs were able to pull away at 14-9 with a kill from Slater and a block and kill from McSweeney. Wake Forest held the lead to 18-12, which forced a Notre Dame timeout. A service error from Notre Dame and a kill from Kamryn Malloy extended the lead 20-13. A short run by the Irish was stopped with a kill from Slater to keep the Deacs lead at 21-16. Another run by the Irish cut the deficit to 22-19 to force a Wake Forest timeout. A 3-0 run by the Irish out of the timeout tied it at 22, but a kill from Slater and back-to-back kills from Malloy gave the Deacs the 25-22 first set win.
The second set started with an early 4-1 lead for the Irish, but the Deacs stayed within two points for the entire set, until a block from Franke and Malloy tied it at 23. A sideout for Wake Forest and kill from Chloe Wilson sealed the second set win, 25-23 after trailing for the whole set. The Deacs took a commanding 8-1 lead to start the third set and force a Notre Dame timeout early on. Irish errors and kills from Slater helped extend Wakes lead 11-4. The Irish went on a small run to cut the deficit to 12-9 and force a Wake Forest timeout. Out of the break, kills from McSweeney and Malloy maintained the Deacs' lead, 14-10. An Irish sideout and service ace tied the match at 15. There were ties at 16, 17, 20 and 21 before the Deacs went on a 4-0 run to close out the set with two kills and a block from Malloy and a block from Fuentes and Franke. Wake Forest won the third set 25-21 to beat the Irish in three sets for the first time in program history. The last time Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame was October 18, 2015, 3-1, in South Bend.
Coach's Comments
"We knew we had been winning the serve and pass game in all our matches, and we knew our offense needed some work. Tonight, they put the pieces together and played aggressive. The thing we've been working on the most is competing and playing to win. Notre Dame never stopped coming at us and we never stopped attacking. It was nice to see the players compete from start to finish and execute when they needed to. I am so proud of them for executing at the end of every set when it mattered the most. They fought hard and played to win. They earned this one, now we just have to keep doing it." – head coach Randi Smart
Up Next
The Deacs will host the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in Varsity Arena. The match will air live on Regional Sports Networks with first serve set for 12:05 p.m.
The Deacs were led by Ashley Slater's 13 kills and Kamryn Malloy's 11, along with Andrea Fuentes' 36 assists. Olivia Franke finished with eight kills for a team-high .312 hitting percentage and also registered a team-high five blocks. Malloy and Delaney McSweeney each chipped in three blocks. Kalani Whillock led the Wake Forest passing game with 19 digs and 29 receptions for a .967 reception percentage. The Wake Forest defense held Notre Dame to a .149 hitting percentage for the match.
How It Happened
The first set stayed close until the Deacs were able to pull away at 14-9 with a kill from Slater and a block and kill from McSweeney. Wake Forest held the lead to 18-12, which forced a Notre Dame timeout. A service error from Notre Dame and a kill from Kamryn Malloy extended the lead 20-13. A short run by the Irish was stopped with a kill from Slater to keep the Deacs lead at 21-16. Another run by the Irish cut the deficit to 22-19 to force a Wake Forest timeout. A 3-0 run by the Irish out of the timeout tied it at 22, but a kill from Slater and back-to-back kills from Malloy gave the Deacs the 25-22 first set win.
The second set started with an early 4-1 lead for the Irish, but the Deacs stayed within two points for the entire set, until a block from Franke and Malloy tied it at 23. A sideout for Wake Forest and kill from Chloe Wilson sealed the second set win, 25-23 after trailing for the whole set. The Deacs took a commanding 8-1 lead to start the third set and force a Notre Dame timeout early on. Irish errors and kills from Slater helped extend Wakes lead 11-4. The Irish went on a small run to cut the deficit to 12-9 and force a Wake Forest timeout. Out of the break, kills from McSweeney and Malloy maintained the Deacs' lead, 14-10. An Irish sideout and service ace tied the match at 15. There were ties at 16, 17, 20 and 21 before the Deacs went on a 4-0 run to close out the set with two kills and a block from Malloy and a block from Fuentes and Franke. Wake Forest won the third set 25-21 to beat the Irish in three sets for the first time in program history. The last time Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame was October 18, 2015, 3-1, in South Bend.
Coach's Comments
"We knew we had been winning the serve and pass game in all our matches, and we knew our offense needed some work. Tonight, they put the pieces together and played aggressive. The thing we've been working on the most is competing and playing to win. Notre Dame never stopped coming at us and we never stopped attacking. It was nice to see the players compete from start to finish and execute when they needed to. I am so proud of them for executing at the end of every set when it mattered the most. They fought hard and played to win. They earned this one, now we just have to keep doing it." – head coach Randi Smart
Up Next
The Deacs will host the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in Varsity Arena. The match will air live on Regional Sports Networks with first serve set for 12:05 p.m.
Team Stats
ND
Wake
Kills
32
40
Errors
17
16
Attempts
101
102
Hitting %
.149
.235
Points
46
52
Assists
30
39
Aces
5
3
Blocks
9
9
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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