Middle Blockers Shine in Sunday Sweep Over Tigers

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Closing out the weekend on its home floor again, Wake Forest volleyball (9-10, 3-5 ACC) made a nice bounce back on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Clemson Tigers (12-8, 0-8 ACC) in a 3-0 sweep.

Freshman Kelis Hawkins got off to a strong start, ultimately going 8-for-10 on her attacks with only two errors (.600). The middle blocker also impressed defensively with three blocks. Joining Hawkins in the middle, redshirt junior Sanaa Williams posted seven kills on a .438 hitting percentage and a team-high five blocks.

Senior Paige Crawford tied her career high in blocks (3) while adding eight kills and nine digs. Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle chipped in eight kills on her own.

For the second time in four matches, Patrycja Lagida finished with three service aces – a mark that led all individuals and tied her season high. She also posted six kills, seven digs and two blocks.

Setters Becca Bellows and Rian Baker contributed 20 and 13 assists, respectively. Baker also plugged in nine digs.

Senior Emma Farrell recorded 12 digs, tying the match high.

With the victory, the Deacs upped their current winning streak against Clemson to five matches.

Sunday featured the team's fifth home win of the fall.

How it Happened

Two opening kills by Kelis Hawkins put Wake on the board in set one.
Early possessions were traded before Becca Bellows lined an ace to put the Deacs up by three (8-5).
Paige Crawford and Patrycja Lagida added to the scoring column with hits, and Wake went up 11-7.
A 3-0 Clemson run led to a floor break.
Sanaa Williams helped her Deacs get back on track with a pair of kills, upping the lead to 17-12.
Rian Baker then delivered a dump kill to start a 3-0 surge by Wake.
Hawkins put the Deacs at set point with a hit.
Clemson suffered a final attacking error, as the Deacs took set one on a 25-19 clip.
- Hawkins had five kills in set one.
Different Deacs pounded kills to open set two, even at 5 all.
Wake's hitters remained aggressive in helping start a string of four unanswered points and an 11-8 advantage.
Immediately afterward, Lagida and Williams made two big blocks through a stretch of three possessions.
At the media timeout, Wake was in front, 15-13.
Scoring on three of the next five rallies, the Tigers evened the margin at 17-17.
The Deacs responded with three consecutive points, two of which were brought by Ryleigh Whitekettle on kills.
Clemson kept things close with a 3-1 push, creating a one-point game and down 21-20.
- Coming out of a timeout, the Tigers tied the set briefly before Lagida/Whitekettle made a timely block.
- Lagida next handed out an ace to give Wake some room late.
A big Crawford swing placed the Deacs at set point.
Hawkins/Crawford put away the frame on a block, winning the second, 25-22.
- Wake hit .400 in the set.
- Bellows had 17 assists at the time.
Clemson took the first five points of set three.
- Whitekettle and Crawford stopped the run with a kill apiece.
Lagida soon went off again, producing kills and an ace during a 5-0 Wake burst.
- Down 9-7, the Tigers signaled for a timeout.
Once play resumed, Sadie Poeck and Williams connected on a block.
Williams hammered two more kills and Lagida notched her third ace to give Wake its biggest lead of the set, 14-7.
Everything continued to go right for the Deacs in a 12-1 run.
- Anya Santrac soon checked in for Wake.
Clemson added a few more points but also suffered errors, as Wake remained ahead.
Kills by Santrac and Williams gave the team a 23-15 lead.
After Dhru Lalaji delivered an ace, Paige Crawford nailed a final ball to win set three, 25-16, and secure the sweep.
Wake Forest routed Clemson, 3-0.

Standout Stats

Wake Forest had the upper hand over Clemson in nearly every statistical area:
- Points – 58.0 to 44.0
- Kills – 43 to 33
- Service aces – 6 to 2
- Assists – 37 to 29
- Digs – 50 to 41
A trio of Deacs had three or more blocks:
- Sanaa Williams – 4
- Kelis Hawkins – 3
- Paige Crawford – 3
Additionally, on the defensive end, three players registered nine or more digs:
- Emma Farrell – 12
- Paige Crawford – 9
- Rian Baker – 9

Additional Notes

The Deacs and Tigers met on Sunday for the 56th time in program history.
Wake Forest has now won the last five meetings over Clemson, dating back to Sept. 25, 2022.
Becca Bellows reached over 900 career assists during the afternoon.
Ivana Cvetkovic made her second appearance in conference play on Sunday, getting the start in set three.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"One of the main keys for us today was passing," noted head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "It allowed us to stay in our offense, and we saw some of the best distribution that we've had so far this season with contributions from many different players. We hit really well, both out of the middle and right. Paige Crawford did a great job today on the left side. Patrycja Lagida carried a heavy load on Friday, so did not need to do as much today, but that is the type of thing that we need to use – with other hitters stepping up and playing great volleyball. We also scrambled well today, running balls down when Clemson settled for some tips, and put up just a great team effort overall."

Up Next
The Deacs will compete out of state next week, visiting SMU (Oct. 24) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 26). Both matches will stream on ACC Network Extra.

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Team Stats

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Paige Crawford

Kelis Hawkins

Sanaa Williams

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Ivana Cvetkovic

Emma Farrell

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Dhru Lalaji

Sadie Poeck

Anya Santrac

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics