Wake Forest Caps Off Perfect ACC Home Weekend with Sweep Over Syracuse

Sunday, October 11

Winston-Salem, N.C.

1 p.m.

Wake Forest University

8-9,2-4ACC

Syracuse

5-10,0-6ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Syracuse	12	16	20	0
Wake Forest	25	25	25	3

PDF Box Score

Wake Forest Caps Off Perfect ACC Home Weekend with Sweep Over Syracuse

10/11/2026 4:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Demon Deacons recorded their best hitting percentage of the season, hitting .469 against the Orange.

By: KJ Smith

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Powered by a stellar attacking display, the Wake Forest volleyball team (8-9, 2-4 ACC) completed a perfect ACC home weekend as it swept Syracuse (5-10, 0-6 ACC) in its annual Heather Kahl Holmes Pink Match on Sunday afternoon at Varsity Arena.

Overall, the Demon Deacons recorded a season-best .469 hitting percentage against the Orange, its highest since the Deacs hit .513 in their season opener against UNCW in 2021. Additionally, the Deacs led the Orange in kills, 45-30.

Freshman Lyla Stewart continued her stellar freshman campaign as she led the Demon Deacons with 16 kills. Stewart also logged a team-high eight digs and a pair of blocks.

With her performance, the Powell, Ohio, native has logged 10 or more kills in seven of her last eight matches, totaling 122 kills over that span.

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle added another solid performance as she notched nine kills while logging a season-high .818 hitting percentage. The Topsail Beach, N.C., native also added three blocks and a dig against Syracuse.

Elsewhere, the duo of junior Becca Bellows and freshman Emma Keeping combined for 40 assists, with Bellows totaling 25 assists and Keeping adding 15 assists.

Defensively, senior Andrea Roman pushed her conference-leading dig total to 268 as she logged seven digs on Sunday.

The Demon Deacons will be auctioning off their match-worn pink jerseys from today's match, with all proceeds going to the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Breast Care Center. Fans can bid on their favorite player's jersey here. The auction is set to close on Monday, Oct. 12, at 11:59 p.m.

How It Happened

The Demon Deacons jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set.
- Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle got the Deacs on the board first with a kill, before freshman Mattea Saunders recorded a service ace on the next play.
- Freshman Lyla Stewart also added a pair of kills during the run.
After Syracuse cut the lead to two, Wake Forest rattled off six straight points to make it 11-3.
- Stewart opened the run with her third kill of the set before combining on a block with redshirt senior Sanaa Williams.
  - Williams tallied a kill on the next rally to push the lead to five.
- Freshman Emma Keeping logged a service ace to force a Syracuse timeout.
- Senior Laiya Ebo and Stewart ended the six-point swing with back-to-back kills.
Ebo and Williams blocked an Orange attack to push the lead to 13-5.
- Sophomore Amina N'Diaye added a kill on the next rally to push the lead to nine.
The Demon Deacons went on a 5-0 run following the media timeout.
The two teams traded points before Stewart closed the set with her sixth kill to give Wake Forest the first set, 25-12.
N'Diaye and redshirt junior Catherine Burke combined on a block to open the second set.
- N'Diaye added a kill on the next play to make it 2-0.
The Deacs capitalized on multiple errors to push their lead to four.
Stewart recorded back-to-back kills to give Wake Forest a 15-12 lead heading into the technical timeout.
The Demon Deacons closed the second set on an 8-0 run to win the set, 25-16.
- Following a pair of attack errors by the Orange, Whitekettle and Stewart logged back-to-back kills to make it 21-16.
- Junior Becca Bellows added a service ace following a Syracuse timeout.
- N'Diaye notched another kill before Bellows added a kill of her own to push the lead to eight.
- Burke and Whitekettle ended the set with a block.
Stewart recorded three straight kills to give the Deacs an early 4-2 lead in the third set.
Senior Elena Dragani notched an ace to push the lead to three.
After Syracuse tied the set at 12-12, Whitekettle hammered home a kill to give the Deacs the lead back.
- Stewart added a solo block on the next attack to extend the lead to two.
Wake Forest capitalized on multiple Syracuse errors to make it 17-14.
The Demon Deacons added a 4-0 run to push their lead to 21-16.
Wake Forest closed out the match as it won the third set, 25-20.

Standout Stats

Wake Forest recorded its best attacking percentage of the season, logging a .469 hitting percentage against the Orange.
- This marked the highest attack percentage since the Demon Deacons hit .513 from the floor in their opening match of the 2021 season against UNCW.
Senior Andrea Roman tallied seven digs against the Orange, bringing her season total to 268.
- The Humacao, Puerto Rico, native leads the ACC in total digs this season.

ACC Digs Leaders

Rank	Name	School	Total Digs
1.	Andrea Roman	Wake Forest	268
2.	Ivy Cooper	Virginia Tech	249
3.	Payton Petersen	Louisville	241
4.	Maya Evens	Notre Dame	239
5.	Zuzanna Maciejewicz	NC State	237

Freshman Lyla Stewart continued her stellar freshman campaign as she recorded a team-high 16 kills on Sunday.
- Stewart has notched 10 or more kills in seven of the last eight matches, totaling 122 kills in that span.
Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle totaled nine kills while logging a season-high .818 kill percentage.

Additional Notes

The Demon Deacons have now won four straight matches against the Orange dating back to the 2023 season.
- This also marked the first sweep over Syracuse in program history.
Ryleigh Whitekettle eclipsed the 200-kill mark for the season on Sunday.
Becca Bellows earned her 200th assist of the season against the Orange.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"What a great team effort today. We were so efficient on offense today. I thought we were well coordinated with our front row and back row defense today. I can't say enough positive things about the way that we came out and played today."

Up Next
The Demon Deacons continue ACC play next weekend as they head west to face No. 14 Stanford on Friday, Oct. 16, at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, before taking on Cal on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.

Both matches will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.