No. 13 Wake Forest Set to Host No. 1 Stanford in Conference Home Opener

Match-up Preview

No. 13 Wake Forest (2-0) will look to continue their strong start to the season Sunday afternoon when they host No. 1 Stanford (2-0) in their Atlantic Coast Conference home opener. The Demon Deacons are coming off an impressive 4-0 victory over No. 6 Duke last weekend while the Cardinal defeated Cal Poly 4-0 in their season opener.

Both teams feature young, talented rosters. For Wake Forest, sophomore Peter Bertran, redshirt junior Hadyn Dinsmore and freshman Filippo Moroni will look to lead the way. Stanford, meanwhile, will look for production from senior Andreas Draxlmaier and sophomore Arthur Fery, among others.

Sunday's match-up should be a good test for both teams. The Cardinal will be looking to prove they are the clear-cut No. 1 team in the country while the Demon Deacons will try to show they are a team to watch out for this season.

Keys to the Match

* Serve and Pass: Both teams have strong servers and passers, so this match could be decided by who can control the net and force the other team out of system. * Blocking: Stanford has one of the best blocking teams in the country, so Wake Forest will need to find a way to get around the Cardinal's big blocks. * Experience: Stanford has more experience than Wake Forest, so the Cardinal will likely have an advantage in close matches. * Home-Court Advantage: Wake Forest will be playing in front of their home crowd, so the Demon Deacons will have a slight advantage in this area.

Prediction

This is a tough match-up to call, but I give a slight edge to Stanford. The Cardinal are the more experienced team and they have a better blocking team. However, Wake Forest is playing at home and they have a lot of talent young talent. I think this match will go to five sets, but I think Stanford will ultimately prevail. Stanford in 5