Sunday, October 27
Atlanta, Ga.
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Wake Forest University
12-9,4-6ACC
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Georgia Tech
15-4,7-3ACC
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Wake Forest
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Georgia Tech
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Deacons Battle No. 17 Georgia Tech, Wrap Four-Match Road Tilt
10/27/2024 4:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dior Charles notched a new career high during Sunday afternoon.
ATLANTA – Entering the last of its four-match road stretch, Wake Forest volleyball visited No. 17 Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 27) for its third matchup versus a nationally-ranked foe this fall. The Demon Deacons (12-9, 4-6) snagged a second-set win but fell in a 3-1 finish on the Yellow Jackets' (15-4, 7-3) floor.
Dior Charles shined in the team's offensive attack, going for a new career high in kills (12). The sophomore middle blocker also led all individuals in blocks with five. Paige Crawford contributed 12 kills of her own, in addition to five digs.
Sunday featured the second time this year in which standout libero Emma Farrell recorded 20-plus digs in consecutive matches (and first in conference play), finishing with 22 on the day. Jaime Santer added seven digs.
Rian Baker was close to another double-double, totaling 25 assists and eight digs, along with a pair of service aces. Becca Bellows chipped in 16 assists while Sahara Maruska tallied nine kills and six digs.
How it Happened
Standout Stats
Additional Notes
From Coach Smart
"Georgia Tech is a very good team and their high ranking reflects that. Playing on their floor always brings a physical and intense match. I thought today was one of our better offensive days. We did well in our serve receive at times and stepped up to the fight. We will continue to get better – next week starts now, as we need to get back and rest our bodies before we aim to protect home court again."
Up Next
The Deacs will open November back at home, set to host Boston College (Nov. 1) and Syracuse (Nov. 3) for a weekend inside Varsity Arena.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Dior Charles shined in the team's offensive attack, going for a new career high in kills (12). The sophomore middle blocker also led all individuals in blocks with five. Paige Crawford contributed 12 kills of her own, in addition to five digs.
Sunday featured the second time this year in which standout libero Emma Farrell recorded 20-plus digs in consecutive matches (and first in conference play), finishing with 22 on the day. Jaime Santer added seven digs.
Rian Baker was close to another double-double, totaling 25 assists and eight digs, along with a pair of service aces. Becca Bellows chipped in 16 assists while Sahara Maruska tallied nine kills and six digs.
How it Happened
- Sahara Maruska gave the Deacons their first point, slamming home a kill.
- Olivia Murphy was next, doing her work from the right side.
- Wake Forest found a rhythm quickly and early, going on a 4-1 push.
- After Paige Crawford tied the margin, Dior Charles and Rian Baker teamed up on a block to give the Deacs their first lead of the match (5-4).
- Crawford was firing from the jump, being relentless on her attacks to help give her squad a three-point advantage in the first set (10-7).
- After Murphy and Charles knotted a kill apiece, Georgia Tech called for the first timeout of the day, down 12-8.
- Scoring on four of five possessions soon afterward, the Yellow Jackets again evened the margin (14-14).
- Wake Forest subsequently took a timeout.
- Georgia Tech next suffered a service error, marking the start of a few traded rallies.
- Crawford nailed her fourth kill before Baker laced a service ace.
- A few additional hits by the Yellow Jackets put them at set point, and a final blow from the left side capped set one in the host's favor, 25-22.
- The Deacons tallied a .324 hitting percentage in the frame – one of their best marks in a single set this fall.
- Emma Farrell set the defensive tone with six digs.
- Crawford again enjoyed a fast start in set two, as back-and-forth play resulted in an 8-8 tie through the first several minutes.
- Tina Grkovic connected with Baker for a middle hit, but two consecutive points by Georgia Tech put the team back in front, 13-11, before the next timeout took place.
- A few errors then cost the Yellow Jackets, leading to a one-point game (15-14).
- Charles chipped in a pair of kills during the midpoint stretch of the second.
- Laila Ricks rose high from the right for a swing, putting Wake Forest back ahead, 17-16.
- Charles chipped in a pair of kills during the midpoint stretch of the second.
- Capitalizing off a few more mistakes made by Georgia Tech, the Deacs found themselves up 22-19.
- The host tried to make something happen late, scoring points on three of four tries.
- Murphy made a kill out of a timeout to place Wake at set point.
- Georgia Tech suffered one more hitting error, and the Deacs secured the win in set two, 25-22.
- Baker and Farrell had 17 assists and 14 digs, respectively, at the time.
- Charles made a few plays to open the third, in what again started as an evenly-played set.
- A tip kill by Georgia Tech put them ahead by two points (9-7).
- Seeing the Yellow Jackets score twice more in a row, Wake Forest huddled back at its bench.
- A tip kill by Georgia Tech put them ahead by two points (9-7).
- Olivia Franke stepped onto the floor to deliver a kill immediately.
- The Yellow Jackets utilized a 7-1 run to extend their gain to 16-8.
- Charles put her Deacs back into the column with a punch, and Georgia Tech again committed a few errors on following rallies.
- Kendall Phillips soon entered the match for Wake Forest.
- A Deacon service error allowed Georgia Tech to reach set point before the host wrapped the period with an ace, 25-15.
- Three Deacs had eight kills apiece through three sets.
- Georgia Tech got off to a 7-3 start in set four.
- Initiated by Charles, Wake Forest jumped on a 5-1 run, trimming the deficit to 9-8.
- Six of the next eight possessions were won by Georgia Tech, stretching its lead to 15-10.
- The Yellow Jackets stayed in front, 20-12, several rallies later.
- Baker lined an ace late in the fourth.
- The junior would start a 6-2 boost for the Deacs, still working from behind (23-19).
- Reaching match point on a kill, Georgia Tech did the same once more to win set four on a 25-20 decision, securing the contest in four sets.
- Wake Forest fell, 3-1.
Standout Stats
- Dior Charles reached a new career high in kills versus the nationally-ranked Yellow Jackets, finishing with 12.
- The Los Angeles native has now registered double-digits in kills twice this year, having netted 10 at Clemson on Friday (Oct. 25).
- Five Deacons had five or more digs:
- Emma Farrell – 22
- Rian Baker – 8
- Jaime Santer – 7
- Sahara Maruska – 6
- Paige Crawford – 5
- Wake Forest's 58 digs finished as the third-best mark in an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) showing.
Additional Notes
- Wake Forest and Georgia Tech matched up for the 53rd time in the all-time series during Sunday afternoon.
- Dior Charles totaled 22 kills and 10 blocks for the weekend's two matches.
- Paige Crawford reached over 900 career kills and 500 career digs during the weekend.
- Emma Farrell has now recorded 20-plus digs on five separate occasions this season:.
- At No. 17 Georgia Tech (10/25/24) – 22 digs
- 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
- Kendall Phillips made her second appearance of the season, and first in ACC play, during the contest.
- Finishing with six digs at Georgia Tech, Sahara Maruska is nearing the 1,000-dig plateau of her collegiate career, needing only 34 more.
From Coach Smart
"Georgia Tech is a very good team and their high ranking reflects that. Playing on their floor always brings a physical and intense match. I thought today was one of our better offensive days. We did well in our serve receive at times and stepped up to the fight. We will continue to get better – next week starts now, as we need to get back and rest our bodies before we aim to protect home court again."
Up Next
The Deacs will open November back at home, set to host Boston College (Nov. 1) and Syracuse (Nov. 3) for a weekend inside Varsity Arena.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Team Stats
WF
GaTech
Kills
48
64
Errors
18
22
Attempts
145
163
Hitting %
.207
.258
Points
57.0
77.5
Assists
46
59
Aces
2
6
Blocks
7
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
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OH/RS
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