Deacs Defeated by Duke on Sunday Afternoon

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Back in Reynolds Gymnasium with a strong crowd present, Wake Forest volleyball (13-12, 5-9) brought in Big Four foe Duke University (14-11, 5-9) on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 6). The Demon Deacons made a handful of gritty plays but ultimately fell in three sets (22-25, 19-25, 20-25).

Paige Crawford played hard in a two-way showing, going for a team-best 12 kills, along with seven digs. Fellow hitters Ashley Slater and Peyton Suess chipped in seven and six kills, respectively.

Emma Farrell led all individuals with 13 digs, also being the only player to reach double-figures.

Andrea Fuentes had 18 assists and five digs. Rian Baker added 12 assists.

Emmy Ogogor went 5-of-7 on attacks and did not commit a hitting error (.714).

The Deacs outdug the Blue Devils, 37-30.

Wake Forest is now 2-1 against Big Four competition this fall.

How it Happened

Early kills by Emmy Ogogor in set one gave Wake Forest a boost, but the team suffered a few attacking errors and trailed 6-3 in set one.
A few back-and-forth trips took place next, with Ogogor and Paige Crawford taking charge on hits.
By the time that the first media timeout arrived, Wake Forest was narrowly behind, 15-12.
Duke delivered an ace to go up 17-13 during a sudden 3-0 burst, forcing a Deacon timeout.
- The Blue Devils committed an error on their next serve.
Crawford and Ashley Slater pitched in kills, with Duke's hitters displaying similar effort and maintaining the visitors' lead, 21-16.
Following an Olivia Franke knock, Peyton Suess ended a pair of rallies for the Deacs with lined hits.
Nevertheless, Duke reached set point on a long kill.
Wake Forest would keep the period alive, posting four consecutive points.
Coming out of its own timeout, Duke put a finish to set one with a swing down the middle line.
The Blue Devils secured a first-set win, 25-22.
- Ogogor successfully landed her first four attacks within the frame.
A skying tip by Crawford, followed by a powerful hit from Olivia Franke, opened set two for the Deacs.
Duke responded by scoring six unanswered points.
- Franke swung again to put an end to the Blue Devils' run.
The next combined six possessions went back-and-forth between the two sides.
After Duke succeeded on three of its next four tries, Crawford punched in a kill and Andrea Fuentes lined an ace.
However, the Blue Devils jumped on another run, 6-1, to up their advantage to 18-10.
Duke suffered a few errors, and the Deacs hung tough, as Suess took off from the right side.
Although they went through a stretch of three errors in a row, the Blue Devils remained in front, 21-15.
Audrey Douglas punched a ball hard before assisting on a block with Franke to start a 4-0 clip by Wake Forest.
- Duke called for a timeout, up 22-19 at the time.
Three-straight final points by Duke allowed the team to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a set two victory, 25-19.
- Emma Farrell had six digs during the period.
The Blue Devils went up 4-0 in the third set before Suess swatted a ball from the right corner.
Both sides continued to battle, albeit in the midst of several attacking errors.
- Slater pounded a few kills, as her team worked to fight from an 11-6 deficit.
- Crawford also seized personal momentum, with Fuentes setting up her teammates.
Wake Forest cut the Blue Devils' lead to 17-14 on a 4-0 push, highlighted by an ace from Farrell.
- Crawford soon went back-to-back on kills toward the left side of the floor.
After a Blue Devil leaped from the middle to swing and put Duke at match point, the visitors suffered errors on serves and attacks before Crawford answered again to force another timeout.
Duke snuck in a kill to finish set three victoriously, 25-20, and win the match.
Wake Forest fell, 3-0.

Standout Stat

Paige Crawford paced Wake Forest on Sunday with a team-best 12 kills. This season has seen 12 separate occasions in which the freshman hitter has been a team leader in this same statistical category:

Paige Crawford Performances as Team Leader in Kills:

Versus NC Central (8/26/22): 13 kills
Versus Western Carolina (8/27/22): 18 kills
Versus Texas State (9/11/22): 9 kills
Versus Georgia Tech (9/23/22): 7 kills
Versus Syracuse (9/30/22): 19 kills
Versus Boston College (10/2/22): 13 kills
Versus NC State (10/9/22): 18 kills
At Notre Dame (10/14/22): 13 kills
At Louisville (10/16/22): 16 kills
At Miami (10/21/22): 12 kills
At Florida State (10/23/22): 9 kills
Versus Duke (11/6/22): 12 kills

From the Head Honcho

"This upcoming week will be important for us to regroup before playing at home again next Sunday," said head coach Randi Smart. "We will have a unique opportunity in playing our last two opponents again, back-to-back. Each contest will be a challenge and we know that. We have still done well in our digs lately, but there are several improvements to make as a whole."

Up Next

Wake Forest has a break from match competition for a week before returning back to Reynolds Gymnasium to face Virginia Tech for the second time in 11 days.

Next Event

Team Stats

Paige Crawford

Ashley Slater

Suess Peyton

Emmy Ogogor

Wake Forest Athletics