Wake Forest Routs Davidson in Friday Home Opener

WISTON-SALEM, N.C. – Officially playing on its home floor for the first time this fall in front of an energetic crowd and alums of its 1975 team, Wake Forest volleyball (3-4, 0-0 ACC) displayed exceptional playmaking on Friday night en route to a 3-0 sweep over Davidson (4-3, 0-0 A10)..

The Demon Deacons have now won four of its last five home openers, tracing to the start of the fall 2021 season.

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle and senior Paige Crawford led the Deacs' hitting tempo with 10 kills apiece. Whitekettle had her most efficient performance of the season, registering a .600 attacking percentage.

Olivia Murphy also was at her best, efficiency-wise, going 7-of-8 from the floor with zero errors (.875). Additionally, the redshirt junior totaled two blocks.

Setters Becca Bellows and Rian Baker contributed 19 and 17 assists, respectively. Baker added 10 digs for her first double-double of the season, along with three service aces.

Fresh off of a showing in which she reached over 1,500 career digs, senior Emma Farrell led all individuals with 14 digs on the evening. Sanaa Williams had another strong defensive night, finishing with a match-high four blocks.

Wake Forest had its best attacking performance of the early fall, tallying a collective .419 mark from the floor, going 48-of-93 with nine errors.

How it Happened

Three Davidson errors opened set one.
Paige Crawford and Sanaa Williams were the first two Deacs to notch kills.
- Olivia Murphy and Kelis Hawkins then followed with one apiece from the right side and middle, respectively.
A Becca Bellows service ace put Wake ahead 8-4.
- Immediately after, Hawkins and Ryleigh Whitekettle made a big block at the net and Davidson called for the evening's first timeout.
Whitekettle came back onto the floor to tally two kills, stretching the Deacs' strong start to 12-4.
The Wildcats scored in a few different ways to hang around, but Wake maintained a six-point advantage through several more rallies.
A 4-0 run by Davidson soon cut the lead to 19-16.
- Patrycja Lagida ended the momentum with a swing from the left side.
Davidson suffered an attacking error and Bellows smartly put down a dump kill as the first entered its closing moments.
Crawford exploded for back-to-back kills and Williams pushed in a ball to put Wake at set point.
A final attacking error by the Wildcats gave Wake the set win, 25-20.
- Whitekettle went 4-for-8 with one error in set one.
Olivia Fish checked into the second set early.
Play was even early, as Murphy hammered a ball to create a 7-5 lead for Wake.
Taking advantage of a couple of Davidson mistakes, the Deacs went up 13-7 following hits by Fish and Murphy.
Four errors were traded through the mid-portion of set two.
Davidson rang two kills right before the media timeout, trailing 15-12.
Crawford nailed two balls before Baker increased the momentum with her serving, lining three consecutive aces.
- Wake led 20-13 at the time.
Murphy, Baker and Williams all chipped in kills and two more hitting errors by the Wildcats gave Wake a 25-14 set two victory.
- Emma Farrell scooped eight digs in the frame.
Early in the third, Baker set up Williams at the net for a middle kill, evening the board at 4-4.
A 3-1 run by Davidson then gave the visitors the lead, 7-6.
Murphy and Crawford delivered a handful of hits for Wake, as the two sides went back and forth.
- After the former and Hawkins knocked in a ball, the Deacs led 15-13 at the media timeout.
Davidson scored twice quickly to tie things up (16-16) before Lagida had back-to-back plays of a kill and ace.
Crawford and Whitekettle clocked kills and the Deacs took a four-point advantage.
- The Wildcats signaled for a timeout, down 20-16.
Lagida handed out an ace as soon as play resumed.
Whitekettle, Crawford and Williams put down a ball apiece to place Wake at match point.
Murphy and Williams finished the deed on a block, giving the Deacs a 25-19 finish in set three and the match win.
Wake Forest defeated Davidson, 3-0.

Standout Stats

Wake Forest's team hitting mark of .419 was its best in a single match of fall 2025 thus far.
The Deacs outplayed Davidson in every statistical area:
- Points – 59.0 to 40.0
- Kills – 48 to 35
- Service aces – 6 to 2
- Blocks – 5 to 3
- Assists – 40 to 31
- Digs – 38 to 31
Four players had seven or more kills:
- Paige Crawford – 10
- Ryleigh Whitekettle – 10
- Olivia Murphy – 7
- Sanaa Williams – 7

Additional Notes

Matching up for a fifth straight year, Wake Forest has now won five of the last six meetings over Davidson:
- W, 3-0 – 9/12/25
- W, 3-2 – 9/22/24
- W, 3-2 – 9/16/23
- L, 2-3 – 12/3/22
- W, 3-0 – 9/16/22
- W, 3-0 – 9/17/21
With Friday's victory, the Deacs have taken four of their last five home openers inside Varsity Arena:
- W, 3-0 – vs. Davidson (9/12/25)
- L, 0-3 – vs. Hofstra (8/30/24)
- W, 3-0 – vs. Toledo (8/25/23)
- W, 3-0 – vs. NC Central (8/26/22)
- W, 3-0 – vs. NC A&T (9/14/21)
Entering the contest ranked seventh in the ACC in digs (3.65/set), Emma Farrell finished with 14 on Friday night.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"Tonight was a great team effort," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "I was proud of the way our players represented our program and Wake Forest, bringing a lot of determination and focus to the match. I felt this was a good one for us to start playing a bit slower, because we were putting a lot of pressure on our opponent. They didn't let off the gas. The crowd was definitely inspiring for the team – we have such a great venue and support from our fans. Also, honoring our 1975 team is just all part of that In Her Wake initiative that we are super excited to be able to continue to build on."

Up Next
Wake Forest is back in Varsity Arena on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 14), set to host the Maryland Terrapins in a 1 p.m. matchup. Those interested can tune in to view the match on ACC Network Extra.

Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com

Next Event

Team Stats

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Paige Crawford

Sanaa Williams

Olivia Murphy

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Olivia Murphy

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics