Deacs’ Comeback Effort Falls Short at Alabama in ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Opening its third week of the fall season again out of state, Wake Forest volleyball faced the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday night in a road matchup within the inaugural ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net. The Demon Deacons (2-4, 0-0 ACC) mounted an admirable comeback effort in a five-set thriller but fell short in a 3-2 loss to Alabama (5-1, 0-0 SEC).

Senior Emma Farrell reached a personal milestone during the match, recording her 1,500th career dig during the fourth set. The Norcross, Georgia native is now one of four individuals throughout program history to hold over 1,500 digs. Additionally, within the current 25-point rally scoring era, Farrell joins Caroline Wolf '17 as the only two Deacs to have 1,500-plus for their respective careers. The libero finished with 13 digs on Wednesday.

Senior Paige Crawford led Wake Forest in kills for a second straight match, totaling a new career high of 21. The outside hitter was well rounded with six digs, three blocks and two service aces.

Junior Patrycja Lagida landed her first double-double as a Deac, finishing with 11 kills and a season-high 14 digs.

Redshirt junior Sanaa Williams provided a major defensive presence, reaching a new career high in blocks (9). Sophomore Becca Bellows notched her second straight double-double – 23 assists and a career-high 14 digs. Senior Rian Baker added 17 assists and five digs.

How it Happened

Kelis Hawkins and Paige Crawford opened the scoring for Wake Forest with a kill apiece in set one.
After Alabama suffered two errors, Rian Baker lined a service ace to give the Deac their first lead (5-4).
Play was even early, as Olivia Murphy connected with Baker for back-to-back kills.
The Crimson Tide earned points on three straight possessions to go ahead, 12-8.
Hawkins threw down a ball in the middle to cut the deficit to a single point, but Alabama scored twice more to lead 15-12 at the first media timeout.
Coming out of the break, the Crimson Tide put two more on the board before Ryleigh Whitekettle/Sanaa Williams responded with a big block.
A flurry of kills by Crawford kept the Deacs close by.
Attacks by Alabama stretched the host's advantage to 23-18.
- Lagida delivered a punch on the very next play.
Reaching set point on a block, the Crimson Tide won set one on a final Wake error, 25-20.
- Lagida was solid defensively with six digs in the frame.
Williams and Lagida entered the second set with aggressiveness, chipping in blocks and kills.
A 3-1 Alabama run tied the set at 7 all.
- Olivia Fish soon checked into the match.
After the two sides traded a few rallies, the Crimson Tide took four possessions in a row for the lead (15-14).
The host next scored on eight of 12 tries.
- Becca Bellows made a dump kill in the middle of the floor.
Alabama secured set two, 25-18, for a 2-0 lead in the contest.
- Crawford had five kills at the time.
Sadie Poeck started set three for the Deacs.
Three different players planted a kill, and Wake went up 5-0 to begin the third.
Alabama jumped on the board, but Crawford made several plays to keep her squad in front (11-6).
- Williams followed with an ace.
Strong serving and hitting by the Deacs led to a 17-9 lead at the next timeout taken.
A Poeck kill and Baker ace extended Wake's comfortable margin to 21-10.
Hits by Williams and Lagida placed the Deacs at set point.
Alabama gave a final push, but Lagida put the period away on one more kill, 25-23.
- Baker and Bellows had 13 and 12 assists, respectively, through three sets.
- Crawford was the first Wake player to reach 10 kills.
- The Deacs hit a remarkable .412 clip in the third.
A successful challenge by the Crimson Tide early in set four gave the team a 6-3 start.
- Crawford, Murphy and Lagida all netted kills through the next several minutes.
Wake continued its fight, as Poeck rose from the right to tie the board at 10-10.
- The freshman soon teamed with Hawkins on a block and Crawford rang a kill to give Wake a 15-13 advantage.
Emma Farrell notched her 1,500th career dig during an ensuing 5-0 Deacon surge.
Crawford caught fire once again and Wake went ahead 20-15 before Alabama signaled for a timeout.
Williams built a wall at the net, making three rejections in a short span.
A Lagida kill had Wake at set point (24-17).
Alabama scored seven more times to even the set.
- Farrell set up Lagida for an immediate hit.
Extra points emerged as both sides continued going toe to toe.
Alabama was unsuccessful on a challenge and Poeck/Williams made a final block to secure a thrilling fourth-set victory, 28-26.
- Williams had one of her best single-set showings of the season, sitting at eight blocks.
Alabama led 3-1 to open set five.
- Crawford answered with a big swing before joining Williams on a block to even the score.
Midway in the set, Alabama led 8-6, as the teams traded benches.
Behind play from its hitters, Wake was able to create a 9-9 tie.
Alabama took the next two rallies quickly and the Deacs regrouped.
Crawford would not be denied, knocking in kills for yet another tied set (12-12).
Alabama reached match point on hits from the left side.
- The Crimson Tide were able to win the match and set (15-12) on a final successful challenge.
Wake Forest fell, 3-2.

Standout Stats

Wake Forest posted its best single-set hitting percentage of the season in the third set (.412).
Entering the matchup ranked sixth in the ACC in digs (3.94/set), Emma Farrell finished with 13 versus the Crimson Tide.
The Deacs recorded a new season high in blocks, totaling 13.5.
Defensively, the team tied its season high in digs at 66.
Three players finished with 13 or more digs:
- Patrycja Lagida – 14
- Becca Bellows – 14
- Emma Farrell – 13

Additional Notes

Wake Forest faced the Crimson Tide on Wednesday evening for the first time since Nov. 30, 2002.
Wednesday featured the Deacs' first five-set outing since Nov. 16, 2024.
Patrycja Lagida notched her 600th kill in the contest.
Becca Bellows reached over 200 digs during the evening.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"Obviously, we aren't satisfied with the result, but this again showed we can compete at a high level in these moments," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "Closing out the sets, even those early ones, is what we need to figure out. It's tough and it hurts, but I am proud of our fight. Playing with that edge was something we all did together. We can't afford to hang our head, as we have two more important matches happening here soon."

Up Next
This weekend will see the Deacs on their home floor for the first time this fall, set to host Davidson and Maryland on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Both matches will stream on ACC Network Extra. There will continue to be free general admission seating for all home matches inside Varsity Arena.

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Deacs’ Comeback Effort Falls Short at Alabama in ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net

Next Event

Team Stats

Paige Crawford

Patrycja Lagida

Olivia Murphy

Kelis Hawkins

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Olivia Murphy

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics

Deacs’ Comeback Effort Falls Short at Alabama in ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net

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Next Event

Team Stats

Game Leaders

Paige Crawford

Patrycja Lagida

Olivia Murphy

Kelis Hawkins

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Olivia Murphy

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

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