Deacs Battle Fighting Irish in Regular-Season Finale

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Making one final appearance of the regular season, Wake Forest volleyball visited Notre Dame during Saturday afternoon. The Demon Deacons (15-16, 9-11 ACC) battled the Fighting Irish (12-16, 9-11 ACC) through four sets of action before falling in a 3-1 finish.

In her final regular-season showing, senior Emma Farrell showed out with a season-best 26 digs to lead all individuals. The Norcross, Ga. native has plugged in 20-plus digs six times this year.

Junior Patrycja Lagida reached a new season high in service aces, finishing with four. The outside hitter also led the Deacs with 15 kills while adding 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the fall.

Two other Deacs posted double-doubles of their own – senior Paige Crawford (10 kills, 12 digs) and sophomore Becca Bellows (19 assists, 10 digs). Crawford made standout defensive plays as well, contributing four blocks.

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle totaled 10 kills. Redshirt junior Sanaa Williams and freshman Kelis Hawkins added four blocks apiece. Senior Rian Baker contributed 21 assists and six digs.

The Deacs' 71 digs and 10 service aces both were their highest totals in a conference match this season.

How it Happened

Wake opened set one with a strong Patrycja Lagida slam, set up by Becca Bellows.
The two sides traded a couple of errors before Sadie Poeck flew in from the right side.
A Notre Dame attacking error led to the Deacs trailing by one, 6-5.
Lagida threw in another ball to soon tie the score at 9-9.
Emma Farrell made several impressive hustle plays on the defensive end to help create an even set (12-12).
The Fighting Irish used a 5-1 run to take the lead, 17-14.
Stepping out of a timeout, Ryleigh Whitekettle and Lagida added kills for the Deacs before Farrell lined a service ace to again tie the board (18-18).
Notre Dame responded with three unanswered points, forcing a timeout.
- Whitekettle and Lagida again took turns on hits once action resumed.
Hawkins added to the scoring column before Notre Dame reached set point on a tip kill (24-22).
- Paige Crawford did the same on the very next possession.
One more hit by the host gave them a set one win, 25-23.
- Lagida and Farrell had six kills and five digs, respectively, in the opening frame.
Trailing 3-1 to begin set two, Lagida started a 4-0 push for Wake, first nailing a kill before delivering an ace.
Back-and-forth rallies took over before Notre Dame went in front by three (8-5).
- Sanaa Williams answered with an ace.
By the media break, the Fighting Irish led 15-9.
Lagida led the Deacs' attack to keep the team close by.
- After Williams slammed a ball, Wake trailed 17-14.
Scoring on five of six tries, Notre Dame upped its advantage to 23-16 late in the set.
After reaching set point on a block, the Fighting Irish completed a middle kill to take the second, 25-20.
- Rian Baker had 10 assists through two frames.
Indiana native Olivia Murphy started set three for the Deacs, in addition to Dhru Lalaji.
Wake was red hot as the third unfolded, leading 5-0.
- Williams posted a pair of aces during the start.
Hawkins and Whitekettle did some damage at the net to keep the Deacs ahead (8-4).
Notre Dame jumped on a 4-1 run before committing a service error.
- Two swings followed by the team to even things at 13 all.
Crawford next hammered a ball before the Fighting Irish were unsuccessful on a challenge, giving Wake a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout.
Lagida took over several rallies, chipping in back-to-back kills to put her Deacs ahead 20-16.
Notre Dame again had a spurt of taking three of four possessions, leading to a timeout.
- Wake was up 22-19 at the time.
Williams and Crawford notched a kill apiece to place the Deacs at set point.
Lagida finished off set three with an ace, 25-19, capping off three straight points by Wake.
- Farrell entered the fourth set with 15 digs.
Notre Dame led 6-3 early in set four.
- The team went on to suffer a couple of errors before Lagida caught fire in her serving.
  - The junior laced two aces in a row to tie the margin at 10-10.
Murphy then made a block and kill, in back-to-back fashion, to give Wake its first lead of the set (12-10).
- The team found itself on a 5-0 boost.
The Fighting Irish was able to regain a lead, and the set began to feature a handful of traded rallies.
An 8-2 surge by Notre Dame extended its lead to 21-17.
Led by its seniors, Wake continued its fight to cut the deficit to 22-21.
Notre Dame was able to hang on for a 25-23 finish, winning the contest in four sets.
Wake Forest fell, 3-1.

Standout Stats

Emma Farrell has collected 20 or more digs six times this year:
- At Notre Dame (11/29/25): 26 digs (season high)
- Versus No. 22 Miami (10/5/25): 20 digs
- At Duke (9/28/25): 22 digs
- At Old Dominion (9/20/25): 24 digs
- Versus North Carolina A&T (9/18/25): 20 digs
- At East Carolina (9/16/25): 23 digs
Three Deacs finished with four blocks:
- Paige Crawford – 4
- Kelis Hawkins – 4
- Sanaa Williams – 4
Additionally, on the defensive end, four Demon Deacons recorded double figures in digs:
- Emma Farrell – 26 (season high)
- Patrycja Lagida – 12
- Paige Crawford – 12
- Becca Bellows – 10
Wake Forest hit .357 in set three.

Additional Notes

The Deacs and Fighting Irish matched up for the 17th time in program history on Saturday.
Paige Crawford reached her 1,400th career kill at the end of the match.
Patrycja Lagida has led the team in kills eight times this year.
- The Chotomow, Poland, native also surpassed 500 career digs during the contest.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I first want to thank our seniors for everything they have given to this program," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "It was a blessing to be able to teach and lead them this year, and words cannot express how grateful I am for each of them. We showed tremendous grit several times today, playing a team that we knew was going to give their best effort. Our defense was steady and we received key performances from a number of players. It is tough to fall just short, but I am very proud of this group."

Fall 2025 Season Highlights

The Demon Deacons totaled 15 season victories in year one of the Jeff Hulsmeyer era.
Wake Forest finished with nine Atlantic Coast Conference wins for the regular season - its most since the 2010 campaign.
- In three of the last four years, the team has won eight or more conference matches.
Within the ACC standings, Wake Forest entered its season finale ranked ninth in the league.
- The Deacs were picked to finish 15th in the 2025 ACC Preseason Poll, done in voting conducted among conference head coaches.
During a late-season stretch from Nov. 14-21, the Deacs jumped on a three-match win streak. notching four-set road wins apiece at Syracuse (Nov. 14), Boston College (Nov. 16) and Virginia Tech (21). The team took three road contests for the first time since the 2010 season, which happened during a mid-September stretch:
- At Charlotte (9/21/10) – W, 3-0
- At Clemson (9/24/10) – W, 3-0
- At Georgia Tech (9/26/10) – W, 3-0
Wake Forest finished 3-2 over Big Four foes, earning two wins over Duke and one against NC State.
- The team's season sweep over Duke was its first since 2012.
  - Of note, Wake Forest defeated Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sept. 28 for the first time since Oct. 16, 2012.
Entering Saturday's finale, three Deacs maintained a place in ACC top-10 statistical categories through conference play:
- Emma Farrell – 4th in Digs (3.84/set)
- Sanaa Williams – 8th in Hitting Percentage (.344)
- Patrycja Lagida – 10th in Service Aces (0.34/set)
Since the start of the 2019 campaign, the program has totaled a 50-16 record versus non-conference opponents, tallying a win percentage of .757. Additionally, Wake Forest has gone 18-2 at home against such foes during that span. Non-conference play did not take place during the spring 2020 season.

Season	Non-Conference Record	Win Percentage
2025	6-5	.545
2024	8-3	.727
2023	9-2	.818
2022	8-3	.727
2021	9-2	.818
2019	10-1	.909
Overall	50-16	.757

Several milestones were reached by roster members throughout the fall:
- Emma Farrell – 1,500 Career Digs (Sept. 10 at Alabama)
- Becca Bellows – 1,000 Career Digs (Nov. 9 vs. Louisville)
- Rian Baker – 2,500 Career Assists (Nov. 14 at Syracuse)
A senior group of Rian Baker, Paige Crawford, Emma Farrell and Olivia Murphy finished their collegiate careers as Demon Deacons this fall. The standout class combined for 62 wins and 1,495 sets played. Baker, Crawford and Farrell have etched their names within the program's career records:
- Rian Baker – 7th in Career Assists (2,609) and 6th in Career Service Aces (114)
- Paige Crawford – 5th in both Career Kills (1,400) and Career Service Aces (119)
- Emma Farrell – 3rd in Career Digs (1,882)
On its home floor this fall, Wake Forest finished with an 8-5 record – its most wins since 2022.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Dhru Lalaji

Olivia Murphy

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics