Saturday, August 28
Wilmington, N.C.
10 A.M.
Wake Forest University
2-0,0-0ACC
3
vs
0
Furman
1-1,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
F
Wake Forest
25
25
25
3
Furman
11
21
11
0
Wake Forest Goes Undefeated in Opening Weekend, Fuentes Earns MVP
8/28/2021 5:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Wilmington, N.C. – The Wake Forest volleyball started the season 3-0 with three sweeps this weekend, including two today over Furman and North Alabama.
Freshman libero Kalani Whillock and sophomore Ashley Slater earned a spot on the All-Tournament team and redshirt senior Andrea Fuentes earned MVP honors for the event. Fuentes finished the event with 114 total assists, with at least 34 in each match. Whillock finished with 36 digs, 12 in each match. Slater led the team in kills in two of three matches and finished with a total of 33.
Wake Forest was led the first match of the day by Slater, who recorded 13 kills and a solid .524 hitting percentage. Sophomore Olivia Franke and redshirt sophomore Delaney McSweeney each recorded seven kills in the match against the Paladins and both hit above .360 for the match. Senior Abby Krueger made her first appearance of the weekend and recorded five kills and zero errors for a perfect match.
Slater led the Deacs offensively in the second match of the day with 12 kills. Grad transfer Kamryn Malloy finished with 11 and McSweeney had six. Fuentes brought an extra spark to the offense, recording three kills of her own on zero errors for a perfect match, on top of her 34 assists and six digs. Sophomore Chloe Wilson made her first appearance of the season and went two-for-two on zero errors also for a perfect match. Three other Deacs hit above .350 for the match. Whillock recorded 12 digs and two service aces en route to the Deacs' 3-0 win over North Alabama.
How It Happened
Furman
The theme of the weekend continued Saturday morning as Wake Forest swiftly defeated Furman in three sets, with the first and the third seeing the Paladins reach just 11 points in each set. The Deacs jumped to an early 10-6 lead with five different Deacs recording a kill. A big double block from Delaney McSweeney and Peyton Suess gave Wake Forest the momentum to finish the set strong. After three kills in a row from three Demon Deacons, Furman was forced to call a timeout, down 17-10. Wake Forest went on to close the set on an 8-1 run.
The second set was much closer, with the Paladins jumping out to an early 7-4 lead. Furman would keep the lead until Ashley Slater tied it at 14 with a kill from the outside. Kills from Kamryn Malloy and Olivia Franke coupled with a service ace by Kalani Whillock gave the Deacs an 18-15 advantage. The Paladins kept it close but four more kills from Slater sealed the set 25-21.
Set three followed much of the same path as the first, with the Deacs winning swiftly 25-11. The Deacs took control early with a service ace from Andrea Fuentes and another clutch block from McSweeney and Suess for the 3-0 lead that quickly jumped to 6-0 with the help of a kill from McSweeney. The momentum continued for Wake Forest as they jumped to a 12-4 lead capitalizing on errors by the Paladins. Furman attempted to cut the deficit and got within five to 13-8, but the offensive power kept coming from the Deacs. Abby Krueger checked in for the first time this season and recorded three kills for the Deacs and sealed the 3-0 match win.
North Alabama
The Lions kept it close to start the first set, staying within three and tying it at 10. They jumped ahead at 13-11 but four kills from Slater, Suess and Malloy gave Wake Forest the advantage at 16-14. Three different Deacs recorded a service ace before Wake took the first set 25-18.
Wake Forest rode the momentum and started hot in the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The Lions never got closer than that with the Deacs' biggest lead stretching all the way to 20-7. Similar to happenings in the two prior matches, North Alabama did not break 11 points in the set and the Deacs won the second 25-11.
The third set was closer than the second, staying within two of most of the first half of the set. Three kills in a row from Malloy, Fuentes and Slater helped the Deacs stretch it to 10-6. Slater recorded two more kills and a service ace to help the Deacs go up 15-10. Two kills from Chloe Wilson and a solo block from McSweeney expanded Wake Forest's lead to 19-13. Malloy, Fuentes and Slater each recorded at least one more kill before the Deacs took the set 25-17 and notched their third sweep of the weekend.
Coach's Comments
"The team's focus continues to get better, and it is showing up in the balance of the offense. We have everyone contributing on every point. We are proud of the maturity they showed in all three matches. This was a solid weekend. We have lots of positives to take home with us and we are looking forward to getting back in the practice gym this week. It has been great getting on the court again. Dottie Hampton and the UNCW staff did a fantastic job hosting this event and it was a great way to start our season off close to home." – head coach Randi Smart
Freshman libero Kalani Whillock and sophomore Ashley Slater earned a spot on the All-Tournament team and redshirt senior Andrea Fuentes earned MVP honors for the event. Fuentes finished the event with 114 total assists, with at least 34 in each match. Whillock finished with 36 digs, 12 in each match. Slater led the team in kills in two of three matches and finished with a total of 33.
Wake Forest was led the first match of the day by Slater, who recorded 13 kills and a solid .524 hitting percentage. Sophomore Olivia Franke and redshirt sophomore Delaney McSweeney each recorded seven kills in the match against the Paladins and both hit above .360 for the match. Senior Abby Krueger made her first appearance of the weekend and recorded five kills and zero errors for a perfect match.
Slater led the Deacs offensively in the second match of the day with 12 kills. Grad transfer Kamryn Malloy finished with 11 and McSweeney had six. Fuentes brought an extra spark to the offense, recording three kills of her own on zero errors for a perfect match, on top of her 34 assists and six digs. Sophomore Chloe Wilson made her first appearance of the season and went two-for-two on zero errors also for a perfect match. Three other Deacs hit above .350 for the match. Whillock recorded 12 digs and two service aces en route to the Deacs' 3-0 win over North Alabama.
How It Happened
Furman
The theme of the weekend continued Saturday morning as Wake Forest swiftly defeated Furman in three sets, with the first and the third seeing the Paladins reach just 11 points in each set. The Deacs jumped to an early 10-6 lead with five different Deacs recording a kill. A big double block from Delaney McSweeney and Peyton Suess gave Wake Forest the momentum to finish the set strong. After three kills in a row from three Demon Deacons, Furman was forced to call a timeout, down 17-10. Wake Forest went on to close the set on an 8-1 run.
The second set was much closer, with the Paladins jumping out to an early 7-4 lead. Furman would keep the lead until Ashley Slater tied it at 14 with a kill from the outside. Kills from Kamryn Malloy and Olivia Franke coupled with a service ace by Kalani Whillock gave the Deacs an 18-15 advantage. The Paladins kept it close but four more kills from Slater sealed the set 25-21.
Set three followed much of the same path as the first, with the Deacs winning swiftly 25-11. The Deacs took control early with a service ace from Andrea Fuentes and another clutch block from McSweeney and Suess for the 3-0 lead that quickly jumped to 6-0 with the help of a kill from McSweeney. The momentum continued for Wake Forest as they jumped to a 12-4 lead capitalizing on errors by the Paladins. Furman attempted to cut the deficit and got within five to 13-8, but the offensive power kept coming from the Deacs. Abby Krueger checked in for the first time this season and recorded three kills for the Deacs and sealed the 3-0 match win.
North Alabama
The Lions kept it close to start the first set, staying within three and tying it at 10. They jumped ahead at 13-11 but four kills from Slater, Suess and Malloy gave Wake Forest the advantage at 16-14. Three different Deacs recorded a service ace before Wake took the first set 25-18.
Wake Forest rode the momentum and started hot in the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The Lions never got closer than that with the Deacs' biggest lead stretching all the way to 20-7. Similar to happenings in the two prior matches, North Alabama did not break 11 points in the set and the Deacs won the second 25-11.
The third set was closer than the second, staying within two of most of the first half of the set. Three kills in a row from Malloy, Fuentes and Slater helped the Deacs stretch it to 10-6. Slater recorded two more kills and a service ace to help the Deacs go up 15-10. Two kills from Chloe Wilson and a solo block from McSweeney expanded Wake Forest's lead to 19-13. Malloy, Fuentes and Slater each recorded at least one more kill before the Deacs took the set 25-17 and notched their third sweep of the weekend.
Coach's Comments
"The team's focus continues to get better, and it is showing up in the balance of the offense. We have everyone contributing on every point. We are proud of the maturity they showed in all three matches. This was a solid weekend. We have lots of positives to take home with us and we are looking forward to getting back in the practice gym this week. It has been great getting on the court again. Dottie Hampton and the UNCW staff did a fantastic job hosting this event and it was a great way to start our season off close to home." – head coach Randi Smart
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Team Stats
Wake
Furman
Kills
43
22
Errors
13
20
Attempts
84
76
Hitting %
.357
.026
Points
51
24
Assists
39
21
Aces
3
0
Blocks
5
2
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballFootball Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10
Matt Barrie SportsCenter on Wake Forest Campus (Arnold Palmer Complex)
Wednesday, September 10
Football Media Availability (9/9/25)
Wednesday, September 10