Wake Forest University
Notre Dame
Wake Forest to Start Road Stretch with Stops at Notre Dame and Louisville
10/12/2022 10:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Deacs will be out of state for their next four matches.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest volleyball will look to continue its win streak this weekend on the road, making its second out-of-state Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) tilt of the season.
The Demon Deacons face Notre Dame on Friday (Oct. 14) before traveling to Louisville for a Sunday outing (Oct. 16).
Both contests will be available for viewing on ACC Network Extra.
Most recently, Wake Forest notched its first weekend sweep over conference competition in four years, taking down North Carolina (Oct. 7) and NC State (Oct. 9). The Deacs have won their last three matches.
The matchup versus Notre Dame will be Wake Forest's first against the Fighting Irish since March 2020.
The Matches
Friday, Oct. 14 – Wake Forest at Notre Dame – 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 16 – Wake Forest at Louisville – 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
Wake Forest 3, North Carolina 1
In an evening headlined by its annual 'Dig Pink' match, Wake Forest drew an electric, standing-room-only crowd to Reynolds Gymnasium for the Demon Deacons' first Big Four test of the season – a Friday night (Oct. 7) matchup against North Carolina. After the match sat tied at 1-1 through two sets, Wake Forest took care of business through the next two frames en route to a 3-1 victory over the Tar Heels (25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22).
The win was Wake Forest's first over North Carolina since Nov. 27, 2019.
An attendance of 714 spectators set a new record for the most in a single match inside of Reynolds Gymnasium.
Making her first career start for the Black and Old Gold, Lauren Strain brought a forceful presence to the floor. The junior team captain went for a career-high 12 kills and five blocks while recording a .391 attacking percentage.
Ashley Slater finished with a likewise effective performance in comparison to Strain's, ending with 12 kills, tying a season-best, and adding four blocks.
Olivia Franke anchored the Deacon defense as a net protector, going for nine total blocks, seven of which were assisted. That mark now stands as her best of the 2022 fall campaign.
Andrea Fuentes produced a line of 31 assists, six digs, and three service aces. Prior to the match's first serve, the graduate student was honored as a recipient of the 2022 Wake Forest Volleyball Heather Holmes Tenacity Award, named in memory of the program's all-time winningest head coach.
Paige Crawford tallied her third double-double of the season (11 kills and 14 digs).
The ample amount of fans were able to witness another impressive defensive showing by first-year libero Emma Farrell, who led all individuals with 18 digs. Kalani Whillock added 12 digs.
Wake Forest outperformed North Carolina in all major statistical categories of points (76.0-71.0), kills (53-48), blocks (16-11), assists (49-40), and digs (64-56).
Wake Forest 3, NC State 1
Once again playing in front of a packed house and tested against a Big Four opponent, Wake Forest displayed a controlled tempo from the start to knock off NC State in four sets on Sunday evening (Oct. 9).
The win secured a weekend sweep for Wake Forest, its first such feat over Atlantic Coast Conference competition since Oct. 2018. Additionally, it was the Demon Deacons' first victory over the Wolfpack since Oct. 10, 2014.
The Deacs were locked in collectively as a unit, defensively, totaling 20 more digs than NC State (79-59). Four players finished in double-digits on that end: Emma Farrell (18), Paige Crawford (14), Rian Baker (14), and Andrea Fuentes (13).
Crawford was a force in her two-way play, adding a team-high 18 kills, three blocks, and two service aces. The freshman has notched a double-double in three of her last four showings.
Ashley Slater had arguably her most impressive hitting night of the fall, tallying a season-high 17 kills on a .361 percentage.
Baker and Fuentes collected 27 and 22 assists, respectively. Fuentes moved her way up the ladder of records in career assists at Wake Forest, now holding 1,358 – a mark that is good for 10th-best among all-time players.
Olivia Franke went 9-of-18 on attacks and chipped in four blocks. Emmy Ogogor finished with nine kills and three blocks.
RPI Radar
In the NCAA's latest Rating Percentage Index (RPI) rankings, Wake Forest moved up to No. 57 on the list. Over the last two decades, the Deacs have finished within the RPI top-75 by season's end on three separate occasions:
Wake Forest Volleyball Highest RPI Finishes Since 2000:
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2000 – 69
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2008 – 73
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2010 – 70
Props for Paige
Wake Forest saw an individual earn high props on Monday (Oct. 10) when first-year outside hitter Paige Crawford was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Week.
Crawford is the second Demon Deacon to attain such recognition this fall season, as her classmate, Emma Farrell received an ACC Co-Freshman of the Week nod last month (Sept. 19).
This marks the first time in the head coach Randi Smart era that multiple Wake Forest players earned weekly conference honors.
Having moved her way up among the team leaderboard as now the current leader in kills (165), Crawford totaled 29 kills, 28 digs, five blocks, and four service aces through Wake Forest's 3-1 victories over North Carolina (Oct. 7) and NC State (Oct. 9). She made a number of notable, two-way plays during crunch time of the latter win, ending with a team-high 18 kills on a .289 attacking clip while adding 14 assists, three blocks, and two aces.
The Wimberley, Texas native has recorded a double-double in three of her last four contests. Additionally, Crawford is the only true freshman to rank in the ACC's top-10 leaders in kills-per-set (3.30).
(Still) Moving on Up
A mere two matches after moving to No. 11 on the all-time Wake Forest career assists list, Andrea Fuentes rose to the 10th spot during the NC State win, now sitting at 1,359 for her time with the Black and Old Gold. The graduate student setter has reached such a mark in only 1.5 seasons at Wake Forest.
Series History
Versus Notre Dame
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Series: Notre Dame leads, 7-4
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Last Meeting: March 20, 2020
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Result: L, 0-3
Versus Louisville
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Series: Louisville leads, 13-2
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Last Meeting: Oct. 17, 2021
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Result: L, 1-3
Up Next
Wake Forest heads to The Sunshine State next week, playing in matches at Miami (Oct. 21) and Florida State (Oct. 23).
