Friday, November 22
Winston-Salem, N.C.
7 P.M.
Wake Forest University
13-15,5-12ACC
0
vs
3
Pitt
26-1,16-1ACC
1
2
3
F
Pittsburgh
25
25
25
3
Wake Forest
18
14
20
0
Deacs Battle No. 1 Panthers in Front of New Record-Setting Home Crowd
11/22/2024 9:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Juniors Paige Crawford and Emma Farrell led the way on Friday night.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – An electric atmosphere again took over Varsity Arena during Friday night (Nov. 22), as Wake Forest volleyball hosted No. 1 Pitt (26-1, 16-1 ACC) for its 28th match of the year. The Demon Deacons (13-15, 5-12 ACC) created several tightly-played moments through competitive rallies but fell to the Panthers in a 3-0 defeat (18-25, 14-25, 20-25).
For the second time this year, a new home attendance record was set during the evening, as 866 spectators filled up the gym. The total surpassed the previous mark of 847 that happened earlier this season on Sept. 27 versus Virginia.
Paige Crawford totaled 10 kills on one of her most efficient hitting performances of the year, ending with a .350 attacking clip. She also chipped in six digs.
Emma Farrell led all players in digs with 11 while also adding five assists to her line. Sahara Maruska finished with 10 kills and five digs.
Setters Rian Baker and Becca Bellows notched 15 and 13 assists, respectively, as the former also collected eight digs. Olivia Murphy contributed five kills while Olivia Franke and Laila Ricks had four apiece.
How it Happened
"We showed very good fight, hustle and overall play at times all throughout the night. This felt like one of our most complete matches, happening against, rankings-wise, the top opponent we have faced all year long. Pitt does a lot of things at an elite level. It was good to see us step up and challenge ourselves to stay collected within most of the rallies. Continuing that approach as we move forward into these upcoming matches will be the next test for all of us."
Up Next
The Deacs will hold their Senior and Graduates Day on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 24), facing No. 10 SMU. First serve is set for 12 p.m. ET and the match can be watched on ACC Network Extra. A post-match ceremony for the team's 2024-25 class will take place following the conclusion of the contest.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
For the second time this year, a new home attendance record was set during the evening, as 866 spectators filled up the gym. The total surpassed the previous mark of 847 that happened earlier this season on Sept. 27 versus Virginia.
Paige Crawford totaled 10 kills on one of her most efficient hitting performances of the year, ending with a .350 attacking clip. She also chipped in six digs.
Emma Farrell led all players in digs with 11 while also adding five assists to her line. Sahara Maruska finished with 10 kills and five digs.
Setters Rian Baker and Becca Bellows notched 15 and 13 assists, respectively, as the former also collected eight digs. Olivia Murphy contributed five kills while Olivia Franke and Laila Ricks had four apiece.
How it Happened
- Wake Forest showed early aggression in set one, leading to an 8-8 tie.
- Five different Deacs nailed at least one kill during the first 16 combined rallies.
- Back-to-back hits by Olivia Franke and Paige Crawford evened the board at 11-11 before the night's first media timeout took place.
- Franke and Maruska took turns on powerful swings, keeping Wake Forest up by one.
- Pitt was able to step in front with a 4-1 run, leading 19-16 before the Deacons took a timeout.
- The Panthers scored twice more on a service ace and kill after the break.
- Dhru Lalaji soon checked in for Wake Forest.
- The Panthers scored twice more on a service ace and kill after the break.
- A Crawford kill brought the scoring back for her squad.
- Pitt next chipped in a pair of points, followed by a successful challenge earned by the Deacs.
- Reaching set point on a Wake Forest setting error, Pitt won the first with a final block, 25-18.
- Crawford and Maruska had four kills apiece after the opening frame, with the former adding four digs.
- Pitt took a 7-2 lead to begin set two.
- The Panthers scored three more times in a row before Olivia Murphy cut the run with a hit.
- After Pitt committed a hitting error, Charles went for a solo block and kill, in back-to-back fashion, before Crawford hammered a ball.
- Pitt was unsuccessful on a challenge two possessions later, ahead 18-9.
- Wake continued to see a few points from Rian Baker (ace), Crawford (kill) and Franke (block).
- Baker had 10 assists and seven digs at the time.
- Kendall Phillips dished out a nice ace to open set three.
- Crawford and Murphy made notable plays to keep the period tightly played, with the Deacs only trailing 9-7.
- Scoring on four of five ensuing rallies, Wake Forest created a one-point game (12-11).
- Charles again went for a block and kill during the quick stretch.
- Maruska tied the board at 13 all with an ace, forcing a Panther timeout.
- Jumping on a 4-1 run, Pitt regained a narrow lead (18-16).
- The next six rallies went back and forth between the two sides.
- The visitors delivered a kill and ace before Charles answered again from the middle.
- Final plays that involved kills and another ace wrapped a set-three victory for Pitt, 25-20, winning the match in three sets.
- Wake Forest fell, 3-0.
- Four Deacs ended the night with five or more digs:
- Emma Farell – 11
- Rian Baker – 8
- Paige Crawford – 6
- Sahara Maruska – 5
- Wake Forest tied with the Panthers in total digs for the match (36).
- The Deacs tallied a team hitting percentage of .320 in set three, going 11-for-25 with three errors.
- Friday night featured the 15th all-time meeting between Wake Forest and Pitt.
- Continuing to up her mark within the program records, Olivia Franke moved past Melinda Evans '87 in total blocks during the contest, as she now rests at 11th all time with 303.
- Paige Crawford led Wake Forest in kills for the 12th time this year.
- It was also her 16th showing of 10 or more.
- The Wimberley, Texas native only needs one kill to reach 1,000 for her career.
- Dior Charles has now led Wake in blocks on 13 separate occasions throughout the fall season.
"We showed very good fight, hustle and overall play at times all throughout the night. This felt like one of our most complete matches, happening against, rankings-wise, the top opponent we have faced all year long. Pitt does a lot of things at an elite level. It was good to see us step up and challenge ourselves to stay collected within most of the rallies. Continuing that approach as we move forward into these upcoming matches will be the next test for all of us."
Up Next
The Deacs will hold their Senior and Graduates Day on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 24), facing No. 10 SMU. First serve is set for 12 p.m. ET and the match can be watched on ACC Network Extra. A post-match ceremony for the team's 2024-25 class will take place following the conclusion of the contest.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Team Stats
UP
WF
Kills
44
36
Errors
9
17
Attempts
91
98
Hitting %
.385
.194
Points
61.0
44.0
Assists
43
33
Aces
7
3
Blocks
10
5
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
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