Deacs Fall to Bearcats in 2025 Season Opener

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Wake Forest volleyball team opened its fall season on Friday night during day one of the 2025 Tribute to #10 Invitational. The Demon Deacons (0-1, 0-0 ACC) battled against host Cincinnati (1-0, 0-0 BIG 12) throughout the evening before suffering a 3-1 defeat.

Several Wake Forest newcomers stood out in their first appearances, headlined by graduate hitter Ryleigh Whitekettle's team-high 12 kills. Joining her as a reserve was junior Patrycja Lagida with 11 kills. Redshirt junior Olivia Murphy added 10 of her own to round out a trio of Deacs with double-digit kills.

Senior hitter Paige Crawford tied her career high in digs, finishing with 17 for the evening, while her classmate Emma Farrell contributed 14.

Sophomore setter Becca Bellows fell just short of a double-double, posting 25 assists and nine digs. Senior setter Rian Baker had 22 assists and seven digs

Freshman middle blocker Kelis Hawkins had an impressive debut on Friday night, making the start to go 9-of-17 in her attacks with only one error (.471). Competing in the final two sets of the match, freshman hitter Sadie Poeck registered three kills on six total attacks (.500).

How it Happened

After the Bearcats committed an attacking error to start, Olivia Murphy delivered the Deacs' first kill of the fall season.
Kelis Hawkins threw two down the middle early, as the score was tied at 4-4 in the opening set.
- Ryleigh Whitekettle soon checked in and immediately clocked a kill of her own.
A 5-0 run soon put Cincinnati in front, 11-6, before the first timeout of the evening took place.
- Murphy put an end to the push with a right-side hammer.
Paige Crawford took control for three straight skills to make it a two-point game in the first (13-11), forcing a timeout by the Bearcats.
Returning to the floor, Cincinnati tacked on a 5-1 run before suffering a service error.
Back-to-back kills by Whitekettle added into the Deacs' scoring column.
- Patrycja Lagida soon checked in for Wake Forest.
Scoring on five of the next six rallies, the Bearcats reached set point.
- Sanaa Williams answered with a strong hit, but Cincinnati was able to put set one away, 25-17.
  - Defensively, Crawford collected six digs in the first frame.
  - Baker racked up eight assists.
Punches by Whitekettle and Olivia Fish gave Wake a 4-1 start in set two.
The two sides traded points for a short stretch, as a Crawford kill gave her squad a 9-6 advantage.
The Bearcats soon created a one-point game, but Lagida had an answer with two successful hits in consecutive fashion.
Seesaw play continued following a timeout, with Wake Forest hanging on to a 16-14 lead.
Lagida got in a groove, nailing another pair of kills to up the margin to 20-16 in the second.
Cincinnati reached its first lead of the second set late, 22-21.
- The Deacs regrouped at their bench.
  - Lagida cut the host's momentum on a quick swing.
A block at the middle of the net put the Bearcats at set point, followed by another to win the second, 25-23.
- Crawford had a dozen digs at the time while Whitekettle stood at seven kills.
Play was even through eight early possessions in the third (4-4).
After the Bearcats went up 8-4, multiple Deacs contributed to trim the deficit to 10-9.
Wake Forest was connected as a unit through the next several minutes, with Whitekettle getting into a swinging rhythm capped by a Baker service ace.
- Cincinnati called for a timeout, down 16-14 in set three.
Freshman Sadie Poeck checked in to quickly put down two kills.
- She ultimately started a 4-0 boost by the Deacs.
The Bearcats scored three straight, but Wake Forest steadied a balanced attack to finish the third on top, 25-20.
- Whitekettle was the first Deac to reach double-figures in kills.
Lagida got the fourth set going for Wake Forest, quickly sitting at a 4-4 tie.
Another surge of traded points happened, with the Deacs staying close, down 9-8.
Both teams then jumped on 3-0 runs, resulting in a narrow 13-12 gain by the host.
- Eight of the next ten possessions went the way of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati was able to close the fourth set on a final 8-2 run, winning the frame 25-16.
Wake Forest fell, 3-1.

Standout Stats

Three Deacs reached double-figures in kills during Friday's opener:
- Ryleigh Whitekettle – 12
- Patrycja Lagida – 11
- Olivia Murphy – 10
Paige Crawford was a notable defensive standout, racking up 17 digs to tie a career-best mark.
- Aside from Crawford, four other Deacs totaled five-plus digs:
  - Emma Farrell – 14
  - Becca Bellows – 9
  - Rian Baker – 7
  - Dhru Lalaji – 5
Wake Forest outperformed the Bearcats in multiple categories:
- Kills: 60-55
- Assists: 55-50
- Digs: 66-63

Additional Notes

Friday featured the first-ever meeting between the Deacs and Cincinnati.
With 14 digs against the Bearcats, Emma Farrell now stands at 1,433 for her career and is only 67 away from reaching a milestone mark of 1,500.
A handful of team newcomers made their Demon Deacon debuts on Friday:
- Kelis Hawkins
  - The freshman middle blocker also started in her first collegiate match.
- Patrycja Lagida
- Sadie Poeck
- Ryleigh Whitekettle
- Sanaa Williams
Redshirt sophomore Olivia Fish made her first appearance since Nov. 22, 2023 after missing all of the 2024 campaign with an injury.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I felt we did some good things today – we just need to be consistent over time," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "There were some great performances from our young players. Kelis Hawkins and Sadie Poeck stepped up big time in their first matches as freshmen. It was also good to get in Patrycja Lagida and see her be effective. We just have to be good over time and learn from this by watching film. The great thing about volleyball and this tournament is that we have another chance tomorrow. We have to get ready to pull forward and prepare for Michigan."

Up Next
Wake Forest will make a quick turnaround to face the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday (Aug. 30), primed for a 3 p.m. matchup in its final showing of the 2025 Tribute to #10 Invitational.

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Team Stats

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Patrycja Lagida

Olivia Murphy

Kelis Hawkins

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Dhru Lalaji

Olivia Murphy

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics