On Sunday at 1:00 PM PT on ACCNX, No. 5 Stanford women’s volleyball will welcome Wake Forest to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC while Wake Forest comes in at 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.

Last time out: On Friday, Stanford defeated NC State 3-1. The first three sets were tight and then Stanford ran away with the fourth set 25-8.

RECAP: No. 5 Stanford WVB takes care of business against NC State

On Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons are coming in on a two-match winning streak, defeating Virginia Tech at home and then Cal on the road on Friday. Their lone loss of league play went to five sets when they played Virginia. They’re overall playing well and proving to be a solid team.

The Demon Deacons are led by junior outside hitter Paige Crawford, who is averaging 2.52 kills per set. She has been playing fantastic. Graduate student outside hitter Sahara Maruska (2.13 kills), graduate student opposite Laila Ricks(2.11 kills), and redshirt sophomore opposite Olivia Murphy (2.00 kills) are averaging 2+ kills per set as well.

As a team, the Demon Deacons average 12.07 kills, 11.0 assists, 1.68 service aces, 13.19 digs and 2.64 blocks per set on a .207 hitting percentage. Their opponents average 10.54 kills, 9.78 assists, 1.53 service aces, 13.34 digs, and 1.75 blocks per set on a .148 hitting percentage.

Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is continue to have a balanced attack. What worked well against NC State was Elia Rubin, Jordyn Harvey, Ipar Kurt, and Sami Francis having 13-15 kills each. If Stanford can continue that same kind of kill distribution, they should be good.

Secondly, Stanford needs to maintain their service pressure. They had eight service aces against NC State while NC State only had two. If Stanford has a strong serving performance, I like their odds to win this match.

Finally, Stanford needs to hold their own at the net. Wake Forest is used to winning the battle at the net so if Stanford can even things up there, they’ll be taking away a strength of the Demon Deacons.

Prediction: Just like NC State, I got Stanford in four sets. I think the Demon Deacons will get a set in this one but the Cardinal won’t allow them to take it five.

CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook & X (Twitter): @StanfordRivals

Ben Parker on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, & X (Twitter): @slamdunk406

Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com

Join the conversation on CardinalSportsReport.com