Wake Forest Routs Navy in Invitational Finale

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Fresh off a battle-tested, five-set outing on Saturday night, Wake Forest volleyball (2-1) took care of things quickly on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 1) during the final day of its hosted 2024 invitational. Matched up against Navy (0-3), the Demon Deacons were balanced on both ends to ultimately capture a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-16, 25-23).

Sunday ended as Wake Forest's first win over Navy in program history, in only the second all-time meeting and first since Oct. 28, 1978.

Notable two-way showings were brought by Dior Charles and Laila Ricks, as the two each rang in eight kills, in addition to three and four blocks, respectively.

Sahara Maruska also had eight kills and Olivia Murphy chipped in seven. For her efforts over the weekend, Murphy was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Defensively, Emma Farrell scooped a match-high 13 digs – being the only player within the contest to reach double figures in that category.

Paige Crawford was excellent in her serving, going for four service aces and tying a career high. Setters Becca Bellows and Rian Baker finished with 18 and 13 assists, respectively.

Wake Forest wrapped its invitational with a 2-1 record in three days.

How it Happened

Navy took a 5-0 lead to start set one.
- Wake Forest's first two points happened after the visitors committed service and attacking errors.
Two kills and a block by Laila Ricks gave the Deacs momentum, trailing only by one (8-7).
After evening the board, Rian Baker laced a service ace to give Wake Forest its first lead of the day.
An early fight continued right into the midpoint of the frame, as Navy tied things up with a block (12-12).
A quick 3-0 surge went the way of Wake Forest, and the afternoon's first timeout subsequently took place.
Navy suffered a handful of errors afterward, as the Deacons kept their lead afloat (18-14).
Sahara Maruska and Olivia Murphy made neat hits to put the advantage at 21-17, as Navy again regrouped off the floor.
Murphy put down another kill, and two costly errors by Navy had the Deacs at set point.
Paige Crawford finished the deed on an ace to close the opening set, 25-17.
Errors continued to hurt Navy as set two unfolded, giving Wake Forest a 5-2 start.
The Deacs' serving, paced by Crawford, was on excellent display – as a couple of aces upped the gain to 12-5.
Ricks and Maruska helped pace the attack with aggressiveness, maintaining comfort for the Deacs through several rallies.
- Olivia Franke soon entered the contest (19-12).
A Navy blocking error and middle kill from Dior Charles next happened, keeping the lead at eight.
- Becca Bellows set up Charles nicely, right at the middle, to reach set point.
Maruska swung hard to clinch set two, 25-16, for the Deacs – giving a 2-0 match lead.
- The graduate transfer led with eight kills at the time, while Emma Farrell had eight digs.
- Wake Forest hit .467 for the period.
Set three began more tightly played – knotted at 5 all.
After the two Olivias – Franke and Murphy – connected for a block, Crawford dished her fourth ace of the contest (7-7).
A number of rallies went back and forth between the two teams, as neither got over a two-point lead.
- Franke slammed home a ball, as the score sat at 14-13, in Navy's favor.
After Navy was successful on a few tries, Franke added to the Deacons' collection of aces – cutting the deficit to one point (17-16).
Charles made a leap from the middle to tie the margin at 19 all, forcing a Navy timeout.
- She and Ricks then teamed on a big block, immediately after stepping back onto the floor.
Two quick points by Navy, on a kill and ace, put the team back in front (21-20).
- Ricks would be the one to answer right away, however.
Each side took turns (22-22), before Navy nailed a kill.
- Wake Forest called for a timeout.
After an unsuccessful challenge by the visitors, a Murphy punch placed Wake Forest at set point.
Baker finished the afternoon with a neatly-lined ace, giving her Deacs the sweep.
Wake Forest routed Navy, 3-0.

Standout Stats

Three different Deacons contributed eight kills apiece in the Sunday sweep:
Paige Crawford's four service aces tied a career high for the junior hitter.
- She initially recorded the mark versus Sam Houston on September 10, 2022.
Wake Forest held the upper hand versus Navy in several areas:
- Points: 55.0 to 42.0
- Kills: 38 to 34
- Aces: 8 to 3
- Blocks: 9 to 5
- Assists: 34 to 33

Additional Notes

The victory was a first over Navy in program history, in only the second all-time meeting and first since Oct. 28, 1978.
Tina Grkovic totaled 19 blocks for the weekend's three matches, being the team leader in two of them.
- The middle blocker averaged 2.11 blocks per set.
Competing in her first stretch of game action since December 2022, Olivia Murphy shined during opening weekend – playing her way onto the All-Tournament Team.
- The Indiana native tallied 29 kills on a .323 hitting percentage in 11 sets played.
  - She joins her classmates, Emma Farrell and Paige Crawford, as Deacs to earn all-tournament team honors for the annual Wake Forest event.
Paige Crawford added four digs on Sunday and is now only eight away from reaching 500 for her career.
Laila Ricks is close to reaching 500 career kills, only needing seven more.
Since the initial start of its yearly hosted invitational in August 2022, Wake Forest has gone 7-2 up to date in the event.
- Versus Navy (9/1/24) – W, 3-0
- Versus West Virginia (8/31/24) – W, 3-2
- Versus Hofstra (8/30/24) – L, 0-3
- Versus Grand Canyon (8/27/23) – W, 3-1
- Versus Northeastern (8/26/23) – W, 3-0
- Versus Toledo (8/25/23) – W, 3-0
- Versus Kennesaw State (8/27/22) – W, 3-1
- Versus Western Carolina (8/27/22) – L, 2-3
- Versus NC Central (8/26/22) – W, 3-0
Standing at 42 total digs through two season matches and 11 sets played, Emma Farrell only needs 17 more to reach 1,000 for her collegiate career.
Up to date, through the head coach Randi Smart era, the Deacons have tallied a 38-9 record versus non-conference opponents.

From Coach Smart
"It was a good ending to this weekend. The fans were great with their support - we always love having you all in here. I think we did some really good things on the defensive side this weekend and are still working on a few offensive connections. It was great to see Laila and (Olivia) Murphy step up, and look at what we are doing offensively. The middles did such a fantastic job blocking. We are excited to move into another challenging weekend next, and get ready to go."

Up Next
Wake Forest will begin a two-week road stretch, starting with participation in Iowa State's Cyclone Invite (Sept. 6-8). Matchups against the host team, Toledo and Illinois are all set to compose the Deacons' weekend stay in the Midwest.

Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com

Next Event

Team Stats

Maruska Sahara

Ricks Laila

Charles Dior

Olivia Murphy

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Dior Charles

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Franke

Tina Grkovic

Sahara Maruska

Olivia Murphy

Laila Ricks

Wake Forest Athletics