Demon Deacons Announce 2023 Fall Schedule
6/2/2023 12:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Early-season invitationals and another strong lineup of conference competition makes up Wake Forest’s fall slate.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest volleyball has released its 2023 fall schedule, announced by head coach Randi Smart and the program on Friday (June 2).
The full schedule can be found here.
"We are looking forward to this fall and our schedule," said head coach Randi Smart. "We have some great teams to face and challenges before we jump into the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. All of our matches will push us to help in growth as we continue to establish new goals for our program."
For the second year in a row, the Demon Deacons will host a weekend invitational to open the season (Aug. 25-27), bringing in Toledo, Northeastern, and Grand Canyon. Wake Forest will play a single match in each of the three days of action within Reynolds Gymnasium.
A trip to Orlando for the University of Central Florida's tournament (Sept. 1-3) marks the first of a three-week stretch in which the Deacs will play in neutral-site invitationals. Following its stay in The Sunshine State, the team will remain out of state for Kennesaw State's three-day tournament (Sept. 8-10) before returning to North Carolina for a short weekend spent on the grounds of Davidson College (Sept. 15-16).
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) action is slated to begin in late-September, as Wake Forest hosts Miami for its conference opener (Sept. 22). Three consecutive home matches, against Florida State, Clemson, and Georgia Tech, will all round out the first two weeks of ACC competition.
The Deacs will jump back on the road in early October for northbound trips to Boston College (Oct. 6) and Syracuse (Oct. 8). After a midweek showing in Reynolds (vs. Virginia Tech on Oct. 11), Wake Forest will hold its first Big Four test of the year at NC State (Oct. 13).
Homecoming weekend headlines the near-end of October for the program, holding home matchups against Louisville (Oct. 20) and Notre Dame (Oct. 22). A week on the road will close out the month, followed by Wake Forest visiting additional Big Four foes: Duke University (Nov. 3) and North Carolina (Nov. 5). Five days later, a rematch against the Tar Heels is set to occur in Winston-Salem.
A final week of regular-season play on the road takes place Nov. 17-19, with the Deacons facing Notre Dame and the Hokies of Virginia Tech. An afternoon of Senior Day festivities makes up the finale against Boston College on Nov. 22.
2023 Wake Forest Volleyball Fall Schedule
Friday, Aug. 25 vs. Toledo 7 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. Northeastern 5 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sunday, Aug. 27 vs. Grand Canyon 1 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Sept. 1 vs. Alabama State 4 p.m. ET Orlando, Fla.
Saturday, Sept. 2 vs. Central Florida 7:30 p.m. ET Orlando, Fla.
Sunday, Sept. 3 vs. FIU 1 p.m. ET Orlando, Fla.
Friday, Sept. 8 vs. Kennesaw State 7 p.m. ET Kennesaw, Ga.
Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. Western Michigan 3 p.m. ET Kennesaw, Ga.
Sunday, Sept. 10 vs. Mississippi State 3 p.m. ET Kennesaw, Ga.
Friday, Sept. 15 vs. Appalachian State 6 p.m. ET Davidson, N.C.
Saturday, Sept. 16 vs. Davidson 4 p.m. ET Davidson, N.C.
Friday, Sept. 22 vs. Miami 7 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sunday, Sept. 24 vs. Florida State 1 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Sept. 29 vs. Clemson 7 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sunday, Oct. 1 vs. Georgia Tech 1 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Oct. 6 at Boston College 7 p.m. ET Boston, Mass.
Sunday, Oct. 8 at Syracuse 1 p.m. ET Syracuse, N.Y.
Wednesday, Oct. 11 vs. Virginia Tech 7 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Oct. 13 at NC State 7 p.m. ET Raleigh, N.C.
Friday, Oct. 20 vs. Louisville 7 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sunday, Oct. 22 vs. Notre Dame 1 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Oct. 27 at Virginia 7 p.m. ET Charlottesville, Va.
Sunday, Oct. 29 at Pittsburgh 1 p.m. ET Pittsburgh, Pa.
Friday, Nov. 3 at Duke 6:30 p.m. ET Durham, N.C.
Sunday, Nov. 5 at North Carolina 1 p.m. ET Chapel Hill, N.C.
Friday, Nov. 10 vs. North Carolina 7 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Nov. 17 at Notre Dame 6:30 p.m. ET South Bend, Ind.
Sunday, Nov. 19 at Virginia Tech 5 p.m. ET Blacksburg, Va.
Wednesday, Nov. 22 vs. Boston College 4 p.m. ET Winston-Salem, N.C.
The 2022 fall campaign marked the first time since 2001 that the program produced back-to-back winning seasons. Smart paced Wake Forest to a 17-14 overall record – its best clip since 2010. Additionally, the Demon Deacons grabbed 10 victories on their home floor, the most since the 2014 campaign. The team went on to participate in the 2022 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) for its first postseason appearance since 1986 when the Deacs played in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament before the event ceased in 2004.
As early as week two of the fall, Wake Forest found itself ranked within the Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) top five among all member institutions in digs-per-set, as a team. The Deacons finished fourth in the conference with a 14.02 digs-per-set average.
Wake Forest first-year libero Emma Farrell was named the 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year after leading the conference in a digs-per-set average (4.41). The Norcross, Georgia, native ultimately resulted as the first Deacon to attain such recognition since Christy Williams in 2002, along with being only the second, all-time Wake Forest player. Farrell and outside hitter Paige Crawford also were tabbed to the conference's 2022 All-Freshman Team, becoming the first pair in program history to secure All-Freshman selections since Caroline Rassenfoss and Caitlyn Della in 2016. Farrell and Crawford combined for a total of four ACC Freshman of the Week honors – the highest mark in the Randi Smart era.
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