Friday, September 5
Annapolis, Md.
3 P.M.
Wake Forest University
1-2,0-0ACC
3
vs
1
George Mason
2-2,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
F
Wake Forest
20
25
25
25
3
George Mason
25
23
18
22
1
Deacs Pick Up First Season Win Over Patriots During Day One of Navy Invitational
9/5/2025 6:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Head volleyball coach Jeff Hulsmeyer earned his first program win on Friday.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Wake Forest volleyball (1-2, 0-0 ACC) started its second fall weekend strongly on Friday afternoon, collecting a first season win in a 3-1 decision over George Mason (2-2, 0-0 A10). The contest served as an opener to the 14th annual Kristen Dickmann Invitational, hosted by Navy.
Friday featured the first victory for head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer on the Wake Forest sidelines, currently in his first season at the helm of Demon Deacons volleyball.
The Deacs finished with a season-high 12 service aces for the day. It was ultimately the highest single-match total by Wake Forest since Nov. 3, 2024, when the team posted 12 aces in a home win over Syracuse. Senior setter Rian Baker led the way with four aces, as six players tallied one or more.
For a third consecutive showing, three Wake Forest hitters recorded 10-plus kills – Redshirt junior Olivia Murphy (17), redshirt sophomore Olivia Fish (14) and graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle (10). Murphy tied her career-best mark while Fish posted a new season high.
Senior libero Emma Farrell was all over the floor defensively, scooping a match-high 19 digs. Senior hitter Paige Crawford was another standout with eight digs.
Steadying the tempo, Baker and sophomore setter Becca Bellows notched 20 assists apiece. Farrell chipped in seven assists.
How it Happened
Standout Stats
From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I was happy with the way we responded after the first set," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "Any time you're on the road, it can require some adjustment. I was pleased with the way the team responded and steadied out. That was and is a big focus for us over the next week – being good over time. We did a nice job of that this afternoon."
Up Next
Wake Forest returns to the court for day two of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational tomorrow afternoon (Sept. 6), facing Air Force in a 3 p.m. start time.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Friday featured the first victory for head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer on the Wake Forest sidelines, currently in his first season at the helm of Demon Deacons volleyball.
The Deacs finished with a season-high 12 service aces for the day. It was ultimately the highest single-match total by Wake Forest since Nov. 3, 2024, when the team posted 12 aces in a home win over Syracuse. Senior setter Rian Baker led the way with four aces, as six players tallied one or more.
For a third consecutive showing, three Wake Forest hitters recorded 10-plus kills – Redshirt junior Olivia Murphy (17), redshirt sophomore Olivia Fish (14) and graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle (10). Murphy tied her career-best mark while Fish posted a new season high.
Senior libero Emma Farrell was all over the floor defensively, scooping a match-high 19 digs. Senior hitter Paige Crawford was another standout with eight digs.
Steadying the tempo, Baker and sophomore setter Becca Bellows notched 20 assists apiece. Farrell chipped in seven assists.
How it Happened
- Attack errors by George Mason led to a 4-3 Wake Forest start in the opening set.
- Olivia Murphy checked in to provide two quick kills for the Deacs.
- George Mason used a handful of kills to go up 10-8.
- Ivana Cvetkovic responded on the next possession with her first career service ace.
- At the media break, the Patriots led 15-12.
- The team scored twice more before Wake Forest regrouped.
- Ryleigh Whitekettle and Rian Baker chipped into the Deacs' scoring column with a kill and ace, respectively.
- Dhru Lalaji soon checked in for the first time on Friday.
- Murphy added a pair of kills and a Becca Bellows ace marked a 4-1 Demon Deacons run.
- George Mason subsequently took a timeout, leading 22-19.
- Scoring on three of the final four rallies, the Patriots grabbed set one, 25-20.
- Murphy and Whitekettle had four kills apiece after the first frame.
- Baker opened set two with her second ace of the day.
- George Mason suffered a couple of errors before Sanaa Williams connected on a block and kill to give her squad a 5-0 lead.
- Exceptional serving by the Deacs helped keep them in front, as Emma Farrell handed out an ace to up the score 12-5.
- After Whitekettle soon powered in a kill, Baker went back-to-back on aces.
- Two service errors by George Mason put Wake Forest at set point.
- The Patriots cut the period to a one-point lead, tallying three straight points.
- Williams put the set away for the Deacs on a final hammer from the middle, winning set two 25-23.
- Baker had 10 assists and four aces at the time.
- Set three was closely played to start, tied at 6-6.
- Olivia Fish caught fire in her hits, in addition to a Farrell ace, to bump the team ahead by four (10-6).
- Murphy and Whitekettle took flight from the right side twice, and an unsuccessful George Mason challenge led to a 12-8 Wake advantage.
- The Patriots then evened the board with a 4-0 boost.
- Successful swinging by Patrycja Lagida helped the Deacs jump ahead again (21-17).
- Fish continued her stellar play through the set's closing moments, wrapping the third on a kill and block.
- Wake Forest took a 2-1 match lead on a 25-18 decision in set three.
- The Deacs hit .333 in the frame.
- Murphy was the first player to reach double digits in kills.
- The Deacon hitters carried momentum into the fourth, nailing kills to produce a 10-6 lead.
- Both sides landed a number of hits in some back-and-forth play, with Wake Forest staying ahead (16-12).
- The Deacs called for a timeout after a 4-1 George Mason push narrowed the lead to a single point.
- Seeing the score soon tied at 18 all, Murphy exploded for consecutive kills.
- Following their own service error, the Patriots went unsuccessfully on a challenge, trailing 23-21.
- Crawford threw down a ball to place her squad at match point.
- An error on George Mason's final serve cost the Patriots, as the Deacs won the match on a 25-22 finish in set four.
- Wake Forest downed George Mason, 3-1.
Standout Stats
- Wake Forest has opened its season with three straight matches of three players in double-digit kills. A trio of performers paced the Deacs on Friday:
- Olivia Murphy – 17 kills
- Olivia Fish – 14 kills
- Ryleigh Whitekettle – 10 kills
- Five players registered at least one service ace en route to a season-high 12 by the team:
- Rian Baker – 4 aces
- Emma Farrell – 2 aces
- Sanaa Williams – 2 aces
- Becca Bellows – 2 aces
- Dhru Lalaji – 1 ace
- Ivana Cvetkovic – 1 ace
- The team hit .304 from the floor for a best mark of the early season.
- Wake Forest bested George Mason in nearly every major statistical category:
- Points – 68.0 to 64.0
- Kills – 54 to 48
- Service aces – 12 to 8
- Assists – 53 to 40
- Digs – 45 to 33
- Wake Forest now stands at an undefeated 3-0 clip versus the Patriots in the all-time series.
- The Deacs and George Mason matched up on Friday for the first time since Sept. 16, 2005.
- Securing his first Wake Forest win, Jeff Hulsmeyer extended his overall career record to 279-164.
- Collecting 19 digs in the win, Emma Farrell now stands at 1,466 for her career and is only 34 away from reaching a milestone mark of 1,500.
- Friday saw a third consecutive outing in which a different individual finished as Wake Forest's leader in kills.
- Olivia Murphy – 17 kills versus George Mason (9/5/25)
- Patrycja Lagida – 18 kills versus Michigan (8/30/25)
- Ryleigh Whitekettle – 12 kills at Cincinnati (8/29/25)
- Becca Bellows has either led or tied the Deacs in assists for each of the team's first three matches.
- Freshman middle blocker Ivana Cvetkovic made her first career appearance and start on Friday.
From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I was happy with the way we responded after the first set," said head coach Jeff Hulsmeyer. "Any time you're on the road, it can require some adjustment. I was pleased with the way the team responded and steadied out. That was and is a big focus for us over the next week – being good over time. We did a nice job of that this afternoon."
Up Next
Wake Forest returns to the court for day two of the Kristen Dickmann Invitational tomorrow afternoon (Sept. 6), facing Air Force in a 3 p.m. start time.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Team Stats
WF
GMU
Kills
54
48
Errors
19
17
Attempts
115
119
Hitting %
.304
.261
Points
68.0
64.0
Assists
53
40
Aces
12
8
Blocks
2
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's VolleyballRS/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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