Wake Forest Captures First ACC Season Win at Duke

DURHAM, N.C. – Behind a steady defensive effort, Wake Forest volleyball (7-6, 1-1 ACC) secured its first Atlantic Coast Conference win of fall 2025 on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Duke Blue Devils (4-9, 1-1 ACC) in a 3-1 decision.

With the win, Wake Forest notched its first victory inside Cameron Indoor Stadium since Oct. 16, 2012. Additionally, head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer picked up his first ACC win on Sunday, currently in his first season at the helm of Demon Deacons volleyball.

The Deacs were at their best in protecting the net, finishing with 13 blocks. Redshirt junior Sanaa Williams paced the defensive front with eight blocks – the second best single-match total of her career. Freshmen Kelis Hawkins and Sadie Poeck added five blocks apiece.

On the hitting end, senior Paige Crawford took over as the match progressed, finishing with a team-high 13 kills. Poeck got off to a strong start, ultimately totaling nine kills, with seven in the first set alone. Hawkins and graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle chipped in eight kills each.

Senior libero Emma Farrell racked up 20-plus digs for the fourth time in the last five matches, finishing with 22. Setters Rian Baker and Becca Bellows contributed 23 and 17 assists, respectively.

How it Happened

Kills by a trio of Deacs gave Wake a 3-1 start in set one.
- Duke was soon able to tie the scoreboard at 5-5.
After the Blue Devils committed an attacking error, Patrycja Lagida laced a service ace to give her Deacs the lead back (10-9).
Sadie Poeck had an impressive start for Wake, finishing kills on four of her first six attacks with zero errors.
By the match's first media timeout, Duke narrowly led 15-13.
- The host then scored on three of the next four possessions.
  - Lagida put a stop to the momentum with a swing from the left side.
Poeck continued in helping add points for the Deacs, trailing 20-17.
- A Kelis Hawkins kill and block (assisted with Poeck) to follow created a one-point game.
After Poeck and Olivia Fish knotted a kill apiece, the first was again even, 21 all.
- Duke subsequently called for a timeout.
A final 4-1 push by the Blue Devils gave them the set-one win, 25-22.
- Poeck had seven kills on nine attacks in the first, while not committing any errors (.778).
Similarly to the first, set two was even early at 6-6.
Sanaa Williams and Lagida chipped in for Wake, keeping the back-and-forth play active.
A couple of errors happened by both sides, as the Deacs stepped in front midway in the second frame (13-11).
Poeck and Williams connected on a block leading into the media timeout, putting their squad up 15-13.
- Fresh out of the break, Becca Bellows lined an ace and Ryleigh Whitekettle followed with a kill two rallies later.
Hawkins rose for a kill before Duke scored twice in a row.
- Paige Crawford had an answer, however, flying in from the far middle of the court.
Following another Crawford hammer moments later, Duke signaled for a timeout, trailing 22-19.
Crawford kept her foot on the gas, placing Wake at set point.
- Duke responded with two quick points, leading to a floor break.
A service error by the Blue Devils gave Wake the win in set two, 25-23.
- Emma Farrell had nine digs through two sets.
An early Lagida ace and blocks by different Deacs resulted in a 5-2 start for Wake in the third.
Earning points on six of seven possessions, Duke took the lead, 9-7.
- A strong punch by Whitekettle, nicely set up by Farrell, got the Deacs back on the board.
Fish and Hawkins made a rejection at the net, and a hit by the former gave Wake the lead back (11-10).
- Wake was hanging on to a 15-14 lead at the set's media break.
Williams exploded for a handful of plays both offensively and defensively, helping stretch the Deacs' advantage to 22-18.
Tacking on a 5-1 run, Duke tied things up at 23-23.
- Crawford nailed a ball from the outside on the next possession, and a final error by Duke gave Wake a 25-23 set-three victory.
  - Baker had 17 assists at the time.
Crawford carried her pace right into the fourth set with three kills, as the margin sat even at 7 all.
- The senior then started a 3-0 push alongside Whitekettle, creating a 10-7 Deacon lead.
Blocks by Williams and Hawkins upped the score to 12-8 in Wake's favor.
- Four unanswered points by Duke tied the fourth at 12 all.
Seesaw play took over the next 10 combined possessions, even at 17-17.
After the Blue Devils took a 21-18 gain, Wake regrouped at its bench.
The Deacs battled back to tie the frame (21-21), highlighted by kills from Whitekettle and Lagida.
Duke posted back-to-back points before suffering errors on serves and attacks.
Wake then took advantage, with Whitekettle clocking a kill for the 24-24 tie.
- The set quickly went into extra points.
Crawford and Hawkins took final turns on kills, giving the Deacs the match win.
Wake Forest defeated Duke, 3-1.

Standout Stats

The Deacs registered 13 blocks on Sunday – tied for their third-best mark of the season. Three players had five or more:
- Sanaa Williams – 8
- Kelis Hawkins – 5
- Sadie Poeck – 5
Wake Forest also stood out in its digs, as another trio of individuals recorded nine or more:
- Emma Farrell – 22
- Paige Crawford – 9
- Becca Bellows – 9
Emma Farrell has collected 20 or more digs in four of her last five showings:
- 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
In addition to the blocks, the Deacs also outperformed the Blue Devils in service aces (7 to 4).
- Patrycja Lagida and Becca Bellows each notched two aces.

Additional Notes

Wake Forest and Duke met on Sunday in a 78th all-time matchup.
- The ongoing series stands as the longest within the Deacs' program history.
With the victory, the Demon Deacons defeated the Blue Devils for the first time since March 27, 2021.
Through her last 23 sets, Emma Farrell has recorded 114 digs (4.96 per set).
- She entered Sunday's match tied for second in digs among all ACC individuals.
Ryleigh Whitekettle totaled 20 kills in her first two conference matches as a Deac this weekend.
- At Duke (9/28/25) – 8 kills
- At No. 25 North Carolina – 12 kills
Becca Bellows reached over 800 career assists during Sunday's match.
Patrycja Lagida notched her 400th career dig in the contest.
Paige Crawford has now led Wake Forest in kills six times this year.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"Today was a great team win," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "I was very happy with the way we closed out sets, especially set four - coming back to battle hard. We received great production from our middles, as well as our opposites – Sadie Poeck had another really good day. I was most pleased with our team defense. We started off a bit slow and recovered well to finish with a high number of blocks. We're excited and have to get back to work again this week to prepare for Florida State."

Up Next
The Deacs will hold their conference home opener next Friday (Oct 3), hosting the Florida State Seminoles. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and the match can be viewed on ACC Network Extra.

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Team Stats

Paige Crawford

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Kelis Hawkins

Players Mentioned

Rian Baker

Becca Bellows

Paige Crawford

Emma Farrell

Olivia Fish

Kelis Hawkins

Patrycja Lagida

Sadie Poeck

Ryleigh Whitekettle

Sanaa Williams

Wake Forest Athletics