Deacs Travel to California and Stanford for First ACC Road Tests

Friday, October 4

Berkeley, Calif.

10 P.M.

Wake Forest University

Cal-Berkeley

Photo by: Helen McGinnis / Wake Forest Athletics

Deacs Travel to California and Stanford for First ACC Road Tests

10/3/2024 11:16:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Live Streaming (at Cal)Live Stats (at Cal)Live Streaming (at Stanford)Live Stats (at Stanford)Match Notes

Wake Forest volleyball will face the Golden Bears and Cardinal for the first time in program history.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest volleyball is headed out West for week two of its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) slate, traveling to the state of California for a pair of matchups. Friday evening (Oct. 4) will see the Demon Deacons visit the California Golden Bears at 10 p.m. ET before taking on No. 5 Stanford during Sunday afternoon (Oct. 6) at 4 p.m. ET.

The weekend will include first-ever meetings between Wake Forest and its two opponents.

Friday and Sunday's matches can be viewed on ACC Network Extra.

The Deacs are 9-4 overall, coming off a two-week homestand. Opening up ACC play last weekend, the team hosted Virginia (Sept. 27) and Virginia Tech (Sept. 29), capturing a victory over the latter.

The Matches
Friday, Oct. 4
Wake Forest at California – 10 p.m. ET // 7 p.m. PT

Sunday, Oct. 6
Wake Forest at No. 5 Stanford – 4 p.m. ET // 1 p.m. PT

Last Time Out
Friday, Sept. 27 – Virginia 3, Wake Forest 2
Matched up with Virginia last Friday, Wake Forest battled the Cavaliers through five sets before the visitors won on a 3-2 finish (25-13, 26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 7-15).

A new home attendance record was set inside Varsity Arena during the evening, as 847 spectators filled the gymnasium. The mark broke the previous record of 721 that happened on Aug. 25, 2023 in a victory over Toledo.

Emma Farrell totaled 26 digs for the second time in as many matches, tying for a season high. The libero paced a Demon Deacon defense that posted 66 team digs for the contest.

Sahara Maruska went for a new season high in digs (14) while tying her best clip of the fall in service aces (3) and adding nine kills.

Paige Crawford led all individuals with 15 kills and also contributed seven digs. Laila Ricks finished with 11 kills and five blocks.

Sunday, Sept. 29 – Wake Forest 3, Virginia Tech 1
Wake Forest volleyball hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies this past Sunday afternoon, maintaining control as a unit to capture a 3-1 victory (25-14, 22-25, 25-15, 25-17).

Becca Bellows notched a new season high in service aces, collecting four of the team's eight. The freshman setter was also close to a double-double — 20 assists and eight digs.

Paige Crawford led the Deacs in kills for the fifth match in a row, finishing with 13. Adding 10 digs to her line, the Texas native recorded her first double-double of the fall. Fellow junior Emma Farrell led all players with 21 digs.

Sahara Maruska posted nine kills, nine digs and two aces. Dior Charles anchored the Deacon defense with seven blocks. Olivia Murphy went 8-of-13 on her attacks, committing only two errors (.462), while Laila Ricks posted eight kills and five blocks.

Emma Being Emma
Bringing consistent defensive prowess for Wake Forest since her arrival in 2022, junior libero Emma Farrell leads the team in digs (215) and has totaled 20-plus in each of her last three appearances:

Versus Virginia Tech (9/29/24) – 21 digs
Versus Virginia (9/27/24) – 26 digs
Versus Davidson (9/22/24) – 26 digs

Farrell is one of six conference players to have recorded over 200 digs through the first half of the season. The Norcross, Georgia native has totaled 15 or more digs in seven separate showings this fall, up to date.

Deacs Within the League
Entering its sixth weekend of the fall campaign, three Deacons rank in the top-10 among all ACC players in different statistical categories:

Tina Grkovic – 5th in blocks (1.31/set)
Paige Crawford – 8th in service aces (22 total)
Emma Farrell – 8th in digs (3.84/set)

As a team, Wake Forest stands sixth in blocks among league institutions (2.61/set).

Scouting the Opposition
California holds an 8-4 overall record, seeking its first conference win. The Golden Bears have suffered losses in each of their last three matches. Head coach Jen Malcom is in her first season leading the program.

Tabbed No. 5 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) team rankings, Stanford is 9-2 overall, having recently split contests versus Notre Dame and nationally-ranked Louisville. Six different players hold top-10 spots in several ACC individual categories for stats. Tracing back to the 2023 season, Stanford is on a current 12-match winning streak on its home court.

Up Next
Wake Forest returns home next week for its first Big Four showings of the fall. The Deacs first bring in Duke on Friday (Oct. 11) at 7 p.m. ET, as the program's annual 'Dig Pink Match' will headline the evening. On Sunday afternoon (Oct. 13), the North Carolina Tar Heels will arrive in Winston-Salem for a 3:30 p.m. ET outing.

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