Whitekettle Surpasses 1,000 Career Kills, Deacs Fall 3-1 at Cal

Sunday, October 18

Berkeley, Calif.

4 p.m.

Wake Forest University

8-11,2-6ACC

California

15-4,5-3ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Wake Forest	21	25	22	13	1
California	25	22	25	25	3

PDF Box Score

Whitekettle Surpasses 1,000 Career Kills, Deacs Fall 3-1 at Cal

10/18/2026 7:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle led the Demon Deacons with 15 kills against the Golden Bears.

By: KJSmith

BERKELEY, Calif. – The Wake Forest volleyball team (8-11, 2-6 ACC) concluded its California road trip as it fell to Cal (15-4, 5-3 ACC) by a final score of 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle reached a major career milestone against the Golden Bears as she notched her 1,000th career kill during the fourth set. The Topsail Beach, N.C., native led the Demon Deacons with 15 kills to go along with six digs and four blocks.

Freshman Lyla Stewart recorded 13 kills, marking her fourth consecutive match with at least 10. Stewart also added seven digs and a career-high three blocks.

Junior Becca Bellows registered her second double-double of the season, totaling a team-high 23 assists and 10 digs.

Senior Andrea Roman led the Deacs defensively as she tallied 14 digs and three assists. Roman has now recorded 10 or more digs in 17 of Wake Forest's 19 matches this season and currently leads the ACC with 294 total digs.

How It Happened

The Deacs got on the board first in the opening set following a kill by sophomore Amina N'Diaye.
- Wake Forest pushed its lead to 2-0 following an attack error.
The Demon Deacons went on a three-point swing to take a four-point lead.
- Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle opened the run with back-to-back kills.
- Freshman Lyla Stewart capped off the run with her first kill of the match.
After Cal tied the set following a 5-1 run, the Deacs retook the lead on a kill by senior Laiya Ebo.
The two sides traded points before Wake Forest reclaimed a two-point advantage on a three-point surge.
- After N'Diaye tied the set with a kill, junior Becca Bellows gave the Deacs a 10-9 lead with a service ace.
N'Diaye and Stewart logged back-to-back kills to push the lead to 13-10.
Whitekettle recorded kills on consecutive rallies to restore Wake Forest's lead following a 4-0 run by the Golden Bears.
The two sides continued to trade points.
Whitekettle added another kill to end another short run by Cal.
The Golden Bears won the first set, 25-21.
Redshirt senior Sanaa Williams and Stewart logged back-to-back kills to tie the second set at two.
Wake Forest went on a 7-1 run to take a five-point lead heading into the technical timeout.
- Freshman Emma Keeping opened the run with a kill to make it 9-9.
- Stewart and Whitekettle added kills to push the lead to two.
  - The pair would also add kills later in the run.
Whitekettle logged her fourth kill of the set to quell a 5-1 spurt by the Golden Bears.
After trading points late in the set, the Demon Deacons grabbed a 23-21 lead following a kill by N'Diaye and a pair of errors.
Whitekettle and Williams combined on a block to move the Deacs to set point.
The Deacs won the second set, 25-22.
Cal opened the third set on a 3-0 run.
Stewart and sophomore Kelis Hawkins combined on a kill to cut the deficit to one.
Following another short run by Cal, the Deacs responded with a 3-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to four.
- Whitekettle reached double-digit kills during the three-point stretch.
The Deacs added another 3-0 run to make it 16-13.
- Whitekettle opened the run with a kill before Stewart notched back-to-back kills to move Wake Forest within three.
Wake Forest continued to push the pace as it notched a four-point swing to cut the deficit to two.
Cal won the third set, 25-22.
The Golden Bears opened the set on a 7-1 run.
Whitekettle recorded her 1000th career kill to move the Deacs within five.
- Stewart made it 7-3 with a kill on the next rally.
Williams and Stewart blocked a Golden Bear attack to cut the deficit to 8-5.
Wake Forest continued to stay within three points until a 10-1 spurt by the Golden Bears.
Cal won the fourth set, 25-13.

Standout Stats

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle surpassed 1,000 kills in her career on Sunday afternoon.
- Whitekettle led the Demon Deacons offensively as she recorded 15 kills.
- The Topsail Beach, N.C., native also added six digs and four blocks against the Golden Bears.
Freshman Lyla Stewart tallied 13 kills, marking her fourth consecutive match with 10 or more kills.
Senior Andrea Roman tallied a team-high 14 digs against Cal, bringing her season total to 294.
- 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	294
2.	Maya Evens	Notre Dame	281
3.	Payton Petersen	Louisville	279
4.	Ivy Cooper	Virginia Tech	272
5.	Sophia Johnson	Cal	260

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"This team continues to battle and show moments of the quality volleyball that we are capable of playing. However, to win at this level, we need more than moments. That consistency and intentionality has to be part of everything we do. When discipline, intensity and effort become an all the time thing, consistency follows. That has to happen day in and day out. When it does, the consistency will be there. That's a big lesson this team is learning."

Up Next
The Deacs will face Big Four rival NC State twice next weekend. The Demon Deacons will travel to Raleigh to face the Wolfpack on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m., before returning to Varsity Arena on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m.

Admission is free for Sunday's match, and both matches will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.