Thursday, September 18
Winston-Salem, N.C.
6:30 P.M.
Wake Forest University
5-5,0-0ACC
3
vs
0
North Carolina A&T
3-4,0-0CAA
1
2
3
F
N.C. A&T
18
19
15
0
Wake Forest
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Bryce Mitchell / Wake Forest Athletics
Deacs Capture Thursday Sweep over Aggies, Remain Undefeated at Home
9/18/2025 8:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Emma Farrell was a standout during Wake Forest’s return to Varsity Arena.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Playing in Varsity Arena for a third time this fall, Wake Forest volleyball welcomed the North Carolina A&T Aggies in a Thursday evening matchup. The Demon Deacons (5-5, 0-0 ACC) finished victorious in a 3-0 sweep over the in-state visitors (3-4, 0-0 CAA).
The Deacs are now 3-0 on their home floor this fall.
Wake Forest's outside hitters set the tone, as junior Patrycja Lagida and senior Paige Crawford tallied nine and eight kills, respectively. The former also finished with six digs.
Senior Emma Farrell racked up 20 or more digs for the second time in as many matches, finishing with a match-high 20.
Sophomore Becca Bellows contributed 20 assists, eight digs and two service aces, while senior Rian Baker had 13 assists.
Freshman Anya Santrac made her collegiate debut on Thursday, posting four kills, all in the opening set. The Belgrade, Serbia native also added three blocks to tie with her classmate, Kelis Hawkins, for the match high.
How it Happened
"I was very pleased with our outside hitter performances tonight," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "Paige (Crawford) and Patrycja (Lagida) had great matches. I loved that we could bring some other players into the match, and people really rallied around them. It was great to get Anya (Santrac) in for her first opportunity, seeing her back full swing, and Ivana (Cvetkovic) as well. I think tonight was a great opportunity for us to learn some things and take another step forward. It feels great to get this win at home – we look forward to getting back on the road again for Saturday."
Up Next
The Deacs step into their non-conference finale of the regular season this weekend, visiting Old Dominion on Saturday (Sept. 20). The match has a 3 p.m. start time and will stream on ESPN+.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
The Deacs are now 3-0 on their home floor this fall.
Wake Forest's outside hitters set the tone, as junior Patrycja Lagida and senior Paige Crawford tallied nine and eight kills, respectively. The former also finished with six digs.
Senior Emma Farrell racked up 20 or more digs for the second time in as many matches, finishing with a match-high 20.
Sophomore Becca Bellows contributed 20 assists, eight digs and two service aces, while senior Rian Baker had 13 assists.
Freshman Anya Santrac made her collegiate debut on Thursday, posting four kills, all in the opening set. The Belgrade, Serbia native also added three blocks to tie with her classmate, Kelis Hawkins, for the match high.
How it Happened
- Kills by Ryleigh Whitekettle and Patrycja Lagida opened set one.
- A service ace by Lagida upped the lead to 5-1 quickly.
- After Whitekettle powered in another hit on the very next possession, North Carolina A&T called a timeout.
- Whitekettle continued a strong start in nailing three of her first four attacks.
- An Aggie attacking error led to a 9-5 advantage for the Deacs.
- A 3-0 push by North Carolina A&T cut things down to two points before Wake was successful on a challenge.
- Anya Santrac then made her first career appearance for the Deacs.
- The freshman hitter immediately produced three kills in her first bit of action.
- Anya Santrac then made her first career appearance for the Deacs.
- Rian Baker lined an ace to force an Aggie timeout, with Wake leading 18-13.
- Soon after action resumed, Santrac clocked her fourth kill of the evening.
- The Aggies scored three times in a row before suffering back-to-back errors.
- Kelis Hawkins rose for a middle kill before a Becca Bellows ace put Wake at set point.
- Bellows set up Olivia Fish from the right side for a tap kill to win the first, 25-18.
- Santrac went 4-of-4 on attacks with zero errors in her first collegiate set.
- A big hit by Paige Crawford tied set two at 6 all early.
- The Deacs rattled off three straight points to go up 10-7.
- Whitekettle punched a ball and the Aggies were unsuccessful on a challenge in the midst of another 3-0 boost by Wake.
- Emma Farrell kept the momentum going with an ace.
- Crawford stayed efficient in her attacks to help create an 18-13 lead for her squad.
- Lagida took over for a quick spurt and Fish slammed one home to up the margin to 22-17.
- North Carolina A&T subsequently called for a timeout.
- A lengthy rally was capped by a Crawford floating kill to allow Wake to reach set point.
- The senior ultimately put away set two with a powerful swing, 25-19.
- Crawford was 6-of-9 on her attacks with zero errors (.667) at the time.
- The senior ultimately put away set two with a powerful swing, 25-19.
- Errors by the Aggies resulted in the Deacs mounting a 6-1 start to set three.
- Crawford and Fish acted as go-to options in providing offense.
- Sadie Poeck chipped in a kill, and Lagida started a 3-0 Deacon run.
- After North Carolina A&T scored, Lagida went off for three consecutive kills to increase Wake's lead to 16-7.
- The Aggies continued to struggle with errors, as Wake remained in front (20-10).
- Fish stopped a North Carolina A&T burst with a right-sided hammer and a Baker ace put the Deacs up by nine.
- The Aggies called a late timeout after Santrac and Sanaa Williams teamed on a block.
- Final kills by Williams and Lagida wrapped set three in the Deacs' favor, 25-15, giving the team the match sweep.
- Wake Forest defeated North Carolina A&T, 3-0.
- The Deacs had the upper hand over North Carolina A&T in nearly every area:
- Points: 48.0 to 39.0
- Kills: 37 to 30
- Service aces: 6 to 3
- Assists: 37 to 29
- Digs: 44 to 32
- As a group, Wake Forest hit .320 in set one.
- Four players had at least one ace:
- Rian Baker – 2
- Becca Bellows – 2
- Patrycja Lagida – 1
- Emma Farrell – 1
- With the win, Wake Forest has won the last 11 meetings over the Aggies, tracing back to the start of the streak on Nov. 14, 1981.
- The two sides faced each other on Thursday for the first time since Sept. 6, 2022.
- Through her last 12 sets, Emma Farrell sits at 56 digs (4.67).
- Sanaa Williams has totaled 24 blocks in her last five matches.
- Freshman hitter Anya Santrac made her collegiate debut in the contest.
- With a 3-0 start in Varsity Arena, Wake Forest has now won its first three home matches for the second time in the last three seasons.
"I was very pleased with our outside hitter performances tonight," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "Paige (Crawford) and Patrycja (Lagida) had great matches. I loved that we could bring some other players into the match, and people really rallied around them. It was great to get Anya (Santrac) in for her first opportunity, seeing her back full swing, and Ivana (Cvetkovic) as well. I think tonight was a great opportunity for us to learn some things and take another step forward. It feels great to get this win at home – we look forward to getting back on the road again for Saturday."
Up Next
The Deacs step into their non-conference finale of the regular season this weekend, visiting Old Dominion on Saturday (Sept. 20). The match has a 3 p.m. start time and will stream on ESPN+.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Team Stats
NCA&T
WF
Kills
30
37
Errors
19
15
Attempts
100
88
Hitting %
.110
.250
Points
39.0
48.0
Assists
29
37
Aces
3
6
Blocks
6
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballRS/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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