Ten Deacs Tabbed to 2024 Volleyball All-ACC Academic Team

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Another fall semester of strong academic effort has resulted in Wake Forest volleyball placing 10 individuals on the 2024 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Team, announced by the league office on Thursday.

The Demon Deacons earning the honor included:

The 10 selections tied with 2022 for the second-highest total in program history. Wake Forest was one of five ACC schools to have 10 or more players represented this year.

Baker and Crawford have now been recognized in each of their three collegiate seasons.

Franke earned the nod for a second straight year, while Farrell and Murphy were honored for the second time in their careers after landing on the 2022 Academic Team as freshmen.

Five newcomers to the team this school year were named to the list for the first time – Bellows, Grkovic, Lalaji, Ricks and Santer.

Rian Baker | Junior | Setter | Rolling Meadows, Ill. | Communications

Led Wake Forest in assists for the second straight year with 593, averaging 5.20 per set
Finished second on the roster in service aces (34) and third in digs (199)
Produced a team-best five double-doubles
Had 25-plus assists in seven separate showings
Tied her career high in digs at Clemson (Oct. 25), finishing with 15, along with a season-high 44 assists
Notched a new career high in aces with five versus West Virginia (Aug. 31) in just the team's second match of the fall
Surpassed 2,000 career assists versus NC State on Nov. 16, becoming the eighth all-time player in program history to reach the milestone

Becca Bellows | Freshman | Setter | Wheaton, Ill. | Undeclared

Competed in all but one of the team's 31 matches and made 13 starts
Second on the roster in assists (528), averaging 4.76 per set
- Led the team in assists in 13 matches
Notched a season high of 43 assists in the season finale versus No. 21 Florida State (Nov. 29)
Tossed out 32 total service aces for the third-best mark on the roster
Recorded 10-plus digs on four different occasions, including a season-best 11 versus Duke (Oct. 11)
Racked up four double-doubles

Paige Crawford | Junior | Outside Hitter | Wimberley, Texas | Communications

Led the Deacs in kills (335) for a third consecutive year
Finished as the team leader in service aces for a second straight season (39)
- Her total in aces tied with Hanna Lee (2015) for the 14th-best mark in a single season within program records
Notched her 1,000th career kill on Nov. 24 at home versus No. 10 SMU
Had 18 showings of 10 or more kills, including a stretch of five straight matches with 13-plus kills from Sept. 15-29
Contributed 15 or more kills eight times
Collected eight or more digs in nine separate matches, ranking fourth on the team with 191 by the season's conclusion
One of two Deacons, alongside Sahara Maruska, to rest in the team's top five in four major statistical areas

Emma Farrell | Junior | Libero | Norcross, Ga. | Communications

Finished seventh in the conference for the second straight year in digs (4.05/set)
- Ranked second in that same area among all individuals for conference play only, holding a 4.37 per-set average
Led Wake Forest with 478 digs for the fall - a mark that ranks 13th all-time in a single season throughout program history
Started in all of the team's 31 matches
Posted 20 or more digs on seven separate occasions, including a three-match string of 26 versus Davidson, 26 versus Virginia and 21 versus Virginia Tech during a week span from Sept. 22-29
Impressed against nationally-ranked foes, totaling 22 digs on the road at No. 17 Georgia Tech and collecting 20 digs and seven assists in the season finale versus No. 21 Florida State
Had 15 showings of 15-plus digs
- Tallied double figures in digs in all but three of her season appearances
Racked up the third-most assists on the roster (134)
Reached her 1,000th career dig early in the year on Sept. 7 versus Toledo

Olivia Franke | Graduate Student | Middle Blocker | McLean, Va. | MAED - Teaching

Missed some time due to injury but still made a notable impact while appearing in 22 matches
- Named co-captain for the first time in her career
Totaled 101 kills and 31.0 blocks for the year
Exploded for a new career high in kills (19) versus Florida International during the opening match of the 2024 Gamecock Invitational
- Also tallied a .441 hitting percentage and added a season-best six blocks for 22.0 points
Contributed eight kills apiece in back-to-back road matches at Miami and NC State, including attacking clips of .500 and .583, respectively
Tied her career high in digs (6) at NC State on Nov. 13
Wrapped her career with 305 total blocks, moving to 11th in the all-time program records, as her 254 assisted blocks also rank 10th among program individuals
- Competed in 122 career matches, tied for eighth most in program history

Tina Grkovic | Graduate Student | Middle Blocker | Belgrade, Serbia | Business Analytics

Finished second on the roster in blocks (118.0)
- Her total in blocks ranks the 13th most in a single season throughout program history
Rested in the ACC's top 10 in blocks for the majority of the fall
Started in 27 of 29 appearances
Had the most blocks ever by a Deac in a five-set match, going for a career-high 13 (3 solo and 10 assisted) versus West Virginia (Aug. 31)
Led the team in blocks for eight matches
Enjoyed a career-best performance in hitting efficiency versus Stetson (Sept. 14), going 10-of-12 from the floor with zero errors (.833)

Dhru Lalaji | Freshman | Defensive Specialist | Atlanta, Ga. | Undeclared

Played in 46 sets within 19 matches during her first collegiate season
Posted a season-best eight digs twice in ACC play, happening versus Syracuse (Nov. 3) and No. 21 Florida State (Nov. 29)
Had five performances of 5-plus digs
Contributed three digs and two assists in the team's season opener versus Hofstra (Aug. 30)

Olivia Murphy | Redshirt Sophomore | Right-Side Hitter | Indianapolis, Ind. | Finance

Made a full-season return to the court to play in 28 of the team's 31 matches, making 15 starts
Finished fourth on the roster in both kills (170) and blocks (55.0)
Had five performances of 10-plus kills
Seized momentum during Wake's final non-conference match versus Davidson (Sept. 22), notching career bests in kills (17) and hitting percentage (.654), while also adding four blocks
Named to the 2024 Wake Forest Invitational All-Tournament Team after totaling 29 kills and eight blocks across three matches during her first weekend back in action
Went for a career-high five blocks twice, happening versus West Virginia and Toledo
Totaled four or more blocks five times

Laila Ricks | Graduate Student | Right-Side Hitter | Torrance, Calif. | Project Management

Competed in 113 sets through all of the team's 31 matches, while also starting in 15 of them
Finished third on the roster in both kills (183) and blocks (103.0)
Recorded a career-high 18 kills on a .395 attacking clip versus Davidson (Sept. 22), chipping in five blocks
Reached double figures in kills on five separate occasions
Tallied five or more blocks 11 times throughout the fall
Had nine kills and two blocks in her final collegiate match against No. 21 Florida State

Jaime Santer | Graduate Student | Outside Hitter | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | General Management - MS

Made 26 appearances, including six starts
Provided depth to the team's core of hitters
Erupted for a season-high 20 kills on a .395 hitting percentage in the win over Florida International during the opening match of the 2024 Gamecock Invitational (Sept. 13) while also adding nine digs
- Finished as one of two Deacs, alongside Paige Crawford, to have a performance of 20 kills in the fall
Posted five or more digs eight times, ending with 92 total on the year

Academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0-grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. In addition, student-athletes must compete in at least 50 percent of their team's contests.

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Wake Forest Athletics

Ten Deacs Tabbed to 2024 Volleyball All-ACC Academic Team

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Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Franke

Tina Grkovic

Dhru Lalaji

Sahara Maruska

Olivia Murphy

Laila Ricks

Jaime Santer

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