Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Big Four Victories Highlight Wake Forest Volleyball Homestand
10/25/2022 8:48:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Deacs have made some noise in Reynolds Gymnasium this fall.
With a boisterous, Friday night packed crowd at Reynolds Gymnasium watching the Demon Deacons battle Big Four foe North Carolina, Wake Forest head volleyball coach Randi Smart had to move to hand signals because her team couldn't hear her instructions.
"That's what you want for a college atmosphere," Smart said. "You want the student-athletes to show up and support.
"The kids couldn't hear me say anything in the gym. We had to go to a hand-signal offense. We beat UNC that first set, and I think a lot of that was because the Heels had to play not only against us, but also the 700 fans in the stands. It was awesome."
It was the start of a breakthrough weekend for the Deacs, as they topped both North Carolina and NC State, each in just four sets.
"It was amazing," Smart said. "A lot of our parents came in for 'Family Weekend.' The band was present, and the crowd was super loud. We really appreciate everyone coming out. It was awesome to see everyone diving into volleyball this year.
"I'm always excited to play any other team, but we were really excited to see how we matched up against UNC. They are very physical and we knew they were going to get after it. I loved how composed our kids stayed. They played to win the whole night."
Just two days after the victory over the Heels, Wake Forest returned to Reynolds and defeated the Wolfpack for the first time since 2014.
"They turned it around with an even better performance two days later," Smart reflected. "To watch the team learn how to do that and not just put together two good nights, but to play even better the second time, I was just so proud of them. You can really see the growth. From the spring, we started working on competing and mental toughness. It just showed how hard they worked from the spring all the way to this point.
"I'm not going to lie, I hate losing more than I enjoy winning. But they never took a step back, nor did I ever feel like we were the passengers in the car. You can't play in third gear in this conference. I always felt like we were in control of the match, both nights."
Instead of one mega-star for whom opposing teams have to account for, Smart has assembled a balanced team in terms of skill, but also diverse in their path to Wake Forest. She's merged an extremely talented freshmen class with key returners and impact transfers.
"What this team is figuring out is trusting and knowing who we are as a team," Smart said. "We're not going to be a highlight team or a team who scores with big points and swings. We're the team who will outwork and out-dig people. We're going to beat people with the things that don't show up in stats. We're not going to lead in aces, kills or blocks in the conference. But we're going to lead in getting our opponents out of system. We're going to be a great defensive team.
"Then, as our hitters get more comfortable and confident, we're going to start earning points with big swings. That started to happen during those Big Four wins, as our hitters saw what they were able to do against good, physical teams. They were excited about it, and that's how we're going to stay in control."
The victory over NC State is one that Smart believes her team can build upon.
"To get that one done is such a mentality switch for us," she said. "Now we know we can compete and be consistent. We have so many freshmen on this team and they may not know the history of how long it's been since we've beaten them. They were excited to get it done. It was the most physical volleyball match we've played in this gym, maybe ever.
"NC State just came out with some big jumpers and big arms. They lead the conference in blocks. So for us to come out and do that against such a well-respected opponent, our kids are realizing we can win here and do some damage. It felt really good."
As Smart and her staff have recruited across the country, she's been selling the vision of building a top-level ACC program, and it's a vision that has resonated.
"The team just goes out and competes," she said. "It's something we've been talking about for a couple of years. We have freshmen and transfers, and they just want to win. That vision and chip on their shoulders is what we have been recruiting. We don't have any banners on our walls, but we want to recruit the kid who wants to help put the banner on the wall. We want to bring in the players who will make an impact and help change this program."
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first summer Smart has been able to have her team together on campus during the summer. They used that time this year to work on conditioning, skill growth and team chemistry. The overall grind has paid huge dividends.
"We knew we wanted to have longevity with our players and a vision that was forward-thinking," Smart said. "Because this last offseason was really the first one we've had, we had to teach team culture and our players got a lot more physical in the weight room. All the blood, sweat and tears that the team had put in going all the way back to January of last year really began to show this fall.
"Ashley Slater and Olivia Franke have really stepped into their roles as juniors. They had an amazing offseason. Ashley is right around the corner from being a go-to hitter in this conference. She's getting healthy after being out since April and has been back for about seven weeks. As she gets physically stronger, her game continues to elevate."
Following a pair of weekend road trips, Wake Forest Volleyball returns home for matches against Pittsburgh at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 and Virginia at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30.
