Friday, October 25
Clemson, S.C.
6 P.M.
Wake Forest University
12-8,4-5ACC
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Clemson
8-12,0-9ACC
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Wake Forest
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Clemson
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Double-Doubles by Baker and Maruska Headline Road Victory at Clemson
10/25/2024 9:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Wake Forest volleyball saw standout showings all across the board during Friday night.
CLEMSON, S.C. – Taking the floor for its 20th showing of the fall, Wake Forest volleyball visited Clemson on Friday evening (Oct. 25) in a third straight road match. The Demon Deacons (12-8, 4-5) impressively bounced back from a first-set loss to take the next three, capturing a 3-1 win over the host Tigers (8-12, 0-9).
Junior setter Rian Baker put up big numbers for a fifth double-double of the season – 44 assists (season high) and 15 digs (tied for a career high). Sahara Maruska also went for a double-double, her second of the year – 12 kills and 14 digs (tied for a season high).
Emma Farrell was incredibly active on the floor to lead the Deacon defense, totaling 25 digs. The performance featured her highest dig total in an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) contest in fall 2024. She also added six assists.
Paige Crawford played with well-rounded versatility throughout the night, posting a line of 17 kills (match high), nine digs and three service aces. Dior Charles tied her career-best mark in kills with 10 in the match and shined defensively as well to end with a team-high five blocks.
Making a return to the floor, Olivia Franke went 9-of-14 on her attacks with two errors (.500).
Wake Forest has now won each of its last four meetings versus the Tigers.
How it Happened
Standout Stats
Additional Notes
From Coach Smart
"It was a long battle tonight with lots of digs and swings. A great win on the road! We saw a lot of good things from a bunch of players – each position played very hard. Glad to have Franke back out there. We need to now quickly turn our attention to Sunday, finishing this road stretch.
Up Next
Wake Forest travels to Atlanta for its final showing in October, set to challenge No. 17 Georgia Tech. The Sunday contest (Oct. 27) will be played on ACC Network Extra and first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Junior setter Rian Baker put up big numbers for a fifth double-double of the season – 44 assists (season high) and 15 digs (tied for a career high). Sahara Maruska also went for a double-double, her second of the year – 12 kills and 14 digs (tied for a season high).
Emma Farrell was incredibly active on the floor to lead the Deacon defense, totaling 25 digs. The performance featured her highest dig total in an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) contest in fall 2024. She also added six assists.
Paige Crawford played with well-rounded versatility throughout the night, posting a line of 17 kills (match high), nine digs and three service aces. Dior Charles tied her career-best mark in kills with 10 in the match and shined defensively as well to end with a team-high five blocks.
Making a return to the floor, Olivia Franke went 9-of-14 on her attacks with two errors (.500).
Wake Forest has now won each of its last four meetings versus the Tigers.
How it Happened
- An Olivia Murphy kill gave Wake Forest its first point of the evening in set one.
- Clemson committed a few errors early, resulting in a 4-4 tie.
- Dhru Lalaji checked into the match first for the Deacs.
- Action went back and forth through the opening frame, as Paige Crawford nailed a ball to make it 7-7.
- Clemson jumped on a 4-0 push before Wake Forest took a timeout, down 11-7.
- Olivia Franke soon stepped onto the court, immediately putting in a kill on her first possession.
- Wake Forest found success in some hits, along with a Lalaji ace, to keep close by – trailing only 16-14 by the next floor break.
- The Tigers responded with three straight points next.
- Crawford's swings and a lined ace by Emma Farrell gave the Deacons additional points.
- Clemson reached set point on a Deacon service error.
- Franke made another hit before the Tigers grabbed set one on a final kill, 25-21.
- Crawford went 4-for-9 on her attacks with only one error (.333).
- Rian Baker collected a dozen assists.
- Similar to the opener, set two featured a handful of traded points to start.
- Following three hitting errors by Clemson, Sahara Maruska rose for a slam and put her Deacs in front, 7-6.
- Another Franke kill forced the host to take a timeout in the second (10-8).
- Wake Forest's hitters notably remained aggressive to keep a two-point lead afloat.
- Quick rallies continued the even play, as Clemson bumped the margin up late, 22-20.
- Crawford hammered a ball, starting a 4-0 boost.
- Laila Ricks leaped from the right to clock a kill and put Wake Forest at set point (24-22).
- Becca Bellows came in the clutch to deliver an ace on the final possession, giving the Deacons a 25-22 set-two win.
- Baker had 20 assists and six digs through the first two periods.
- Crawford and Murphy came out of the gate firing for set three, and the board was tied at 6-6 early.
- An 8-2 run then went the way of Wake Forest, with several individuals stepping up.
- After Clemson scored on five of its next six tries, the Deacs regrouped.
- Net protection by Wake Forest got the team back on track, as Ricks made a big block to up the gain to 21-17.
- The graduate student again rose for a rejection, assisted by Franke, to reach set point.
- Bellows set up Crawford nicely for a swing, finishing off a lengthy rally and securing set three, 25-20.
- Farrell had 18 digs at the time while Baker reached her double-double in the third.
- Franke acted as a spark in opening moments of set four, helping Wake Forest go up 9-4 before Clemson signaled for a timeout.
- Charles next took over near the middle, producing a block and kill.
- After the sophomore slid for a punch, Clemson subsequently huddled at its bench, trailing 14-8.
- Charles next took over near the middle, producing a block and kill.
- Crawford soon made one of the most impressive hits of the night, planting a ball straight to the floor, to extend the advantage to 17-11.
- Led by Maruska's hitting, four more consecutive points were earned by Wake Forest.
- Clemson tried to make something happen late, tacking four unanswered points of their own.
- Wake Forest took a floor break.
- Charles gave the team momentum back with a swing, and the two sides traded points on the final five rallies.
- Ricks would be the one to finish it off, putting down a ball to win set four on a 25-18 mark and completing three straight sets won.
- Wake Forest downed Clemson, 3-1.
Standout Stats
- Three Deacons reached double-digits in kills and digs in respective categories:
- Kills
- Paige Crawford – 17
- Sahara Maruska – 12
- Dior Charles – 10
- Digs
- Emma Farrell – 25
- Rian Baker – 15 (tied for a career high)
- Sahara Maruska – 14 (tied for a season high)
- Kills
- Wake Forest finished with the upper hand over Clemson in nearly every major statistical area:
- Points – 73.0 to 62.0
- Kills – 59 to 46
- Service aces – 6 to 4
- Assists – 57 to 45
- Digs – 81 to 77
- Olivia Franke was a standout as a reserve, totaling nine kills on a .500 attacking percentage, in addition to a pair of blocks.
- It was the graduate student's first appearance since Sept. 27 versus Virginia.
Additional Notes
- Friday night featured the 55th all-time matchup between Wake Forest and Clemson.
- Entering the match ranked fifth in the conference in blocks as a unit, the Deacs finished with eight against the Tigers.
- Paige Crawford ended as the team leader in kills for the sixth time.
- Emma Farrell has now recorded 20 or more digs four times this season and 15-plus digs nine times.
- Her performances of 20 or more include:
- At Clemson (10/25/24) – 25 digs
- Versus Virginia Tech (9/29/24) – 21 digs
- Versus Davidson (9/22/24) – 26 digs
- Versus App State (9/20/24) – 26 digs
- Her performances of 20 or more include:
- Finishing with 14 digs against the Tigers, Sahara Maruska is nearing the 1,000-dig plateau of her collegiate career, needing only 40 more.
- She reached 10 or more digs for the sixth time as a Deacon on Friday.
From Coach Smart
"It was a long battle tonight with lots of digs and swings. A great win on the road! We saw a lot of good things from a bunch of players – each position played very hard. Glad to have Franke back out there. We need to now quickly turn our attention to Sunday, finishing this road stretch.
Up Next
Wake Forest travels to Atlanta for its final showing in October, set to challenge No. 17 Georgia Tech. The Sunday contest (Oct. 27) will be played on ACC Network Extra and first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Team Stats
WF
CU
Kills
59
46
Errors
24
24
Attempts
178
164
Hitting %
.197
.134
Points
73.0
62.0
Assists
57
45
Aces
6
4
Blocks
8
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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