Farrell & Coach Smart Reach Milestones During Saturday Win over Toledo

AMES, Iowa – Back on the court less than 16 hours removed from its Friday night thriller, Wake Forest volleyball (3-2) took on another five-set challenge during Saturday afternoon, facing the Toledo Rockets (3-3). The Demon Deacons stayed poised and focused to secure the win – their third of the season (21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16, 15-10).

Saturday's victory was the 200th one for head coach Randi Smart within her coaching career.

The contest also saw Emma Farrell become the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs. Her feat happened in the first set. The Norcross, Georgia, native currently rests among the Atlantic Coast Conference's top-10 individuals in digs-per-set average (3.43). Farrell led all individuals with 19 digs on Saturday.

Becca Bellows recorded her first career double-double, finishing with a team-high 21 assists and 10 digs. Fellow setter Rian Baker also notched a double-double, her first of fall 2024, going for 19 assists and 11 digs, along with three service aces.

Laila Ricks kept aggressive throughout the day's entirety en route to a team-best 12 kills. Paige Crawford added eight kills and nine digs with a highly efficient attacking performance (.538). Tina Grkovic contributed season highs in kills (8) and aces (3), in addition to five blocks. Olivia Murphy aslo had five blocks, along with seven kills. Jaime Santer was a spark as a reserve with six kills and nine digs in four sets played. Olivia Franke went 5-of-10 on attacks with only one error.

How it Happened

A Laila Ricks kill got the afternoon going for the Deacs.
- Rian Baker and Dior Charles soon pushed in kills of their own.
Toledo was able to take an 8-5 lead, landing a few successful hits.
After the Rockets scored again, the day's first timeout was taken.
Trailing by a few points, Tina Grkovic was able to give Wake Forest some momentum, making plays in the middle.
After Charles and Sahara Maruska nailed another ball apiece, Grkovic lined a service ace to create a one-point game (15-14).
- Toledo subsequently called for a timeout.
A 3-0 push put the Rockets back ahead by three, before Olivia Murphy finished the run with a kill.
- Emma Farrell reached her 1,000th career dig in the latter stretch of the opening set.
Kills were traded, with different Deacs chipping in, trying to keep close – down 22-19.
A final Wake Forest attacking error gave Toledo a first-set victory, 25-21.
- Farrell collected eight digs in the period – her most in a single set this season thus far.
A service ace by Baker tied set two at 6-6 after the first dozen combined possessions.
Wake Forest's hitters played assertively to help pile up more points and give the team a three-point advantage (13-10).
- Ricks played a big part, swinging on the right side, helping her Deacs go up 19-15 in the second.
  - Two possessions later, Grkovic notched her second ace of the match.
Toledo got in a bit of a groove late, tacking on a 4-0 boost.
- Nevertheless, Murphy again put a stop to the Rockets' surge and Ricks skied from the right to reach set point.
Charles swatted in a ball from the middle to finish off set two, 25-20.
- Ricks had eight kills through the first two frames, doing so on a remarkable .462 hitting clip.
Grkovic's third ace opened the third set.
- Maruska followed in doing the same merely five rallies later.
After the scoreboard read 8-8, Wake Forest rattled off three straight points, as Grkovic and Murphy took turns on hits.
Toledo had an answer, however, quickly jumping on a 4-0 scoring run to step in front, 13-11.
- Wake Forest regrouped at its bench after the Rockets upped their lead to 18-13.
A few Deacs gave additional points on kills, but Toledo ultimately was able to maintain distance of six to seven points through the end of the third, winning on a 25-19 mark.
- Rian Baker reached her double-double through the first three sets.
Wake Forest scored on three of the opening four possessions in set four.
Toledo made a quick response, tallying a 5-0 run before committing a service error.
A block and two consecutive kills by Jaime Santer headlined a stretch of 10 unanswered points by the Deacons, leading to a six-point gain (13-7).
Crawford began to take over with attacks from the left side, as Wake Forest remained comfortably ahead (21-12).
Four straight points by the Rockets led to another Deacon timeout, and Olivia Franke came right out of the break to deliver a monster swing.
The final three points all went to Wake Forest, capped with a Becca Bellows service ace to force a fifth frame.
- The Deacs won set four, 25-16.
  - Bellows had 19 assists and seven digs at the time.
Two aces by Toledo kicked off set five.
Crawford got the Deacons back on track, sending in back-to-back aces.
- Wake Forest went up 5-3.
Teaming on a block, Grkovic and Murphy put their squad at an 8-5 lead at the halfway mark of the fifth.
- Baker then immediately handed out her third ace, forcing a Rocket timeout.
Three points were grabbed by Toledo, but Crawford helped Wake Forest stay in front with a slam (12-8).
Franke put the Deacs at match point, and Crawford finished the deed (15-10).
Wake Forest defeated Toledo, 3-2.

Standout Stats

Saturday marked the first time this fall in which three Deacs reached double figures in digs:
- Emma Farrell – 19
- Rian Baker – 11
- Becca Bellows – 10
Wake Forest bested Toledo in nearly every major statistical category:
- Points: 77.0 to 66.0
- Kills: 58 to 52
- Service aces: 11 to 7
- Blocks: 8 to 7
- Assists: 51 to 46
Several Deacs reached new season highs during the day:
- Tina Grkovic – Kills (8), service aces (3) and digs (4)
- Emma Farrell – Digs (19) and assists (7)
- Olivia Murphy – Digs (4)
- Rian Baker – Digs (11) and kills (3)
- Becca Bellows – Assists (21), digs (10) and kills (2)
- Jaime Santer – Kills (6) and digs (9)

Additional Notes

With the win, Wake Forest moved to an undefeated 3-0 all-time record versus the Rockets.
- The series began back on Sept. 14, 2012.
The newest member of the 1,000-digs club, Emma Farrell accomplished the feat in only 252 sets played – the lowest number of such frames by any Wake Forest individual up to date.
Paige Crawford reached her 400th career dig during the match.
Laila Ricks reached over 500 kills for her career on Saturday.
Rian Baker is up to a team-leading 14 aces on the season, having already plugged in three or more in three separate showings this fall.

From Coach Smart
"I was happy to see the team refocus today and battle until the very end. We have some things we are looking to improve on, and the competition within this weekend continues to help us in different ways. Congrats to Emma on her milestone! She has been such a reliable piece for our program since day one. I was happy to see different players step up today, Jaime for example, and play for each other to get the victory. Tomorrow is another big test and opportunity for us. We need to rest up and start necessary preparations."

Up Next
A final match of the weekend will have the Deacs pitted against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 8) during the last day of the 2024 Cyclone Invite. The match is primed to get underway at 1 p.m. ET and live stats will be available.

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

Farrell & Coach Smart Reach Milestones During Saturday Win over Toledo

Next Event

Team Stats

Ricks Laila

Grkovic Tina

Paige Crawford

Olivia Murphy

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Dior Charles

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Franke

Tina Grkovic

Sahara Maruska

Olivia Murphy

Laila Ricks

Jaime Santer

Wake Forest Athletics

Farrell & Coach Smart Reach Milestones During Saturday Win over Toledo

Related News

Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Ricks Laila

Grkovic Tina

Paige Crawford

Olivia Murphy

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Dior Charles

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Franke

Tina Grkovic

Sahara Maruska

Olivia Murphy

Laila Ricks

Jaime Santer

Related Videos