Demon Deacons Battle No. 5 Stanford in Sunday Home Contest

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest volleyball jumped back into action on Sunday afternoon inside Varsity Arena to open up its November slate, hosting No. 5 Stanford. The Demon Deacons (10-13, 4-8 ACC) battled through rallies before falling in a 3-0 defeat to the Cardinal (20-3, 11-1 ACC).

Senior Paige Crawford led the Deacs in kills for a 10th time this fall, totaling a match-high 13. Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle added seven kills.

Setters Rian Baker and Becca Bellows recorded 15 and 11 assists, respectively. Senior Emma Farrell finished with nine digs.

How it Happened

Sanaa Williams put her Deacs on the board in set one's opening possession with a middle kill.
A blocking error by Stanford had the margin even at 3 all early on.
Olivia Fish made her return to the court moments later, quickly adding a kill.
After Ryleigh Whitekettle and Fish were successful on another hit apiece, Wake led 8-6.
Three consecutive service aces by Stanford put them in front by two.
- Soon after the first timeout of the day, the Cardinal suffered a service error.
Sadie Poeck was set up by Becca Bellows on the right side to add into the Deacs' scoring.
Midway through the first, Wake remained close by, trailing 15-12.
A successful challenge went the way of Stanford not long afterward, bumping the Cardinal's lead to 18-13.
- Whitekettle responded with a big slam on the very next rally.
A 3-1 push by the visitors gave them a 21-15 gain, leading to a Wake timeout.
Stanford was able to close set one on a 4-2 run, winning 25-18.
Paige Crawford came out with aggression in set two, as her fellow hitters helped chip in points.
A Crawford hit put the Deacs up 8-5.
Scoring three times in a row, the Cardinal evened the frame at 10-10.
Back-to-back kills by Fish gave the team its lead back, and points were soon traded.
Williams made things tough for Stanford at the frontline, helping her Deacs hold on to a one-point lead (16-15).
Six of seven tries were earned by Stanford to retake the lead on a 21-17 advantage.
Crawford and Whitekettle kept things competitive, taking turns on swings to create only a two-point deficit.
Stanford finished set two on a 4-0 spurt, winning the period on a 25-18 mark.
- Crawford had seven kills at the time.
Back-and-forth play made up the early stages of set three, as the Deacon hitters continued to make plays.
Williams swung one home through the middle, off a Baker assist, to give Wake some room (10-6).
Crawford again took over, landing a pair of punches, for a 13-10 lead.
Stanford responded with an 8-1 push.
- Two aces upped the Cardinal lead to 21-15.
Whitekettle clocked a ball to put her Deacs back in the column.
A Stanford block put the visitors at match point.
The Cardinal ultimately won the set, 25-17, on a Demon Deacon service error and earned the match win.
Wake Forest fell, 3-0.

Additional Notes

The Deacs faced Stanford in a second-ever meeting on Sunday afternoon, including Wake Forest's first home matchup versus the Cardinal throughout program history.
Within the Wake Forest program records, Paige Crawford moved to fifth all-time in career kills, passing Margaret Davidson '02 and Kadija Fornah '12. The senior is currently at 1,301 through four seasons up to date.
Racking up 11 assists versus the Cardinal, Becca Bellows is now only 34 away from reaching 1,000 for her career.
Olivia Fish made her first appearance since Sept. 28 at Duke earlier this season, contributing four kills.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"Well, first, the crowd was tremendous today," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "We really appreciate the support we continue to get from the community – seeing familiar faces in campers and other fans. I want to thank everyone for coming out. It was another one of those days where we faced a very talented team and showed moments. Credit to Stanford, they executed well in key moments. Continuing to cut down unforced errors will be a focus of ours. We are excited to remain at home this upcoming week with more important opportunities on the way."

Up Next
The Deacs will remain at home next weekend, starting with their Seniors & Graduates Day in a Friday evening contest versus Notre Dame (Nov. 7). The program will honor Rian Baker, Paige Crawford, Emma Farrell and Olivia Murphy in a pregame ceremony. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and the match will stream on ACC Network Extra.

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Demon Deacons Battle No. 5 Stanford in Sunday Home Contest

Next Event

Team Stats

Paige Crawford

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Olivia Fish

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Olivia Murphy

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics

Demon Deacons Battle No. 5 Stanford in Sunday Home Contest

Related News

Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Paige Crawford

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Olivia Fish

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Olivia Murphy

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

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