Ryleigh Whitekettle Notches Career-High 10 Blocks in Five-Set Loss to LSU

Friday, August 28

Baton Rouge, La.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

0-1,0-0ACC

LSU

1-0,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Wake Forest	20	25	23	25	15	2
LSU	25	22	25	23	17	3

Ryleigh Whitekettle Notches Career-High 10 Blocks in Five-Set Loss to LSU

8/28/2026 11:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Topsail Beach, N.C., native led the Demon Deacons with 18 kills and 10 blocks against the Tigers.

By: KJ Smith

BATON ROUGE, La. – Despite a career night by graduate student right-side hitter Ryleigh Whitekettle, the Wake Forest volleyball team (0-1, 0-0 ACC) dropped a five-set heartbreaker to LSU (1-0, 0-0 SEC), 2-3, on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Whitekettle led the way for the Demon Deacons as she finished with an 18-kill, 10-block double-double, with the 10 blocks setting a new career-high. Additionally, the Topsail Beach, N.C., native matched her career-high with six digs.

With her 10 blocks against the Tigers, Whitekettle eclipsed 200 career blocks, with 89 of her 204 blocks coming at Wake Forest.

Two other Demon Deacons ended the match with five or more blocks, with redshirt junior Catherine Burke notching nine blocks and redshirt senior Sanaa Williams adding seven blocks.

Overall, Wake Forest combined for 16 total blocks, the most since the Deacs blocked 17 attacks against East Carolina on Sept. 16, 2025.

Junior setter Becca Bellows led the Deacs with 26 assists, while freshman Emma Keeping totaled 20 assists in her collegiate debut.

Elsewhere, freshman outside hitter Lyla Stewart shined in her collegiate debut, totaling 14 kills, nine digs, two blocks and a service ace. Meanwhile, senior libero Andrea Roman logged 26 digs and five assists in her first match with the Deacs.

How It Happened

The Demon Deacons grabbed the opening point of the match as graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle slammed it home for a kill.
Following a short run by the Tigers, redshirt junior Catherine Burke recorded her first kill as a Deac to make it 8-5 early in the first set.
- Burke and Whitekettle combined for a massive block moments later.
Wake Forest cut the LSU lead down to 12-9 following back-to-back kills by Whitekettle.
Freshman Lyla Stewart rattled off a pair of kills to cut the deficit down to four coming out of a timeout.
The Demon Deacons cut the LSU lead to 22-20 off a block by Whitekettle and redshirt senior Sanaa Williams.
The Tigers took the first set, 25-20.
Wake Forest and LSU traded points early in the second set.
- Whitekettle's fourth kill of the match gave Wake Forest the 11-10 lead.
The Deacs pushed their lead to 13-10 following a service ace by junior Becca Bellows.
- The Wheaton, Ill., native added a kill moments later to push the Wake Forest lead to four heading into a media timeout.
The Demon Deacons carried their momentum out of the timeout, growing the lead to 18-12 after a block by Williams and freshman Lyla Stewart.
Wake Forest responded to a short run by the Tigers with back-to-back blocks by Burke, Whitekettle and sophomore Amina N'Diaye to make it 24-20.
- The Demon Deacons eventually evened the match as they took the second set, 25-22.
After LSU opened the third set on a 4-0 run, the Demon Deacons battled back to tie the game at 5-5.
Stewart notched a pair of kills to help the Deacs grab a 9-7 advantage.
Wake Forest rattled off a 4-0 run to extend its lead in the set to 14-9.
- N'Diaye and Burke combined for three kills during the run.
LSU claimed the third set, 25-23.
The Deacs and the Tigers traded points throughout the early stages of the fourth set, with Wake Forest holding onto a 15-13 lead at the media timeout.
After LSU moved within a point, senior Laiya Ebo logged back-to-back kills to give the Demon Deacons a 20-16 advantage.
Stewart finished off a pass from freshman Emma Keeping to give Wake Forest the fourth set, 25-23.
Wake Forest jumped out to an early 5-3 lead in the final set on a service ace by Stewart.
Whitekettle's 18th kill of the match put Wake Forest on match point.
The Deacs fell in the final set, 17-15.

Standout Stats

Two Demon Deacons finished the match with double-digit kills:
- Ryleigh Whitekettle - 18 kills
- Lyla Stewart - 14 kills
Three Deacs recorded five or more blocks against the Tigers:
- Ryleigh Whitekettle - 10 blocks
- Catherine Burke - 9 blocks
- Sanaa Williams - 7 blocks
Wake Forest led LSU in blocks, 16-10.
- The Demon Deacons also led the Tigers in service aces and digs.

Additional Notes

This marked Wake Forest's third meeting with LSU and the first since the 2011 season.
- This also marked the 34th time the Deacs have faced an SEC opponent in program history.
Seven Demon Deacons made their Wake Forest debut on Friday night:
- Emma Keeping
- Andrea Roman
- Catherine Burke
- Mattea Saunders
  - The Phoenix native also made her first collegiate start.
- Amina N'Diaye
- Laiya Ebo
- Lyla Stewart
  - The Powell, Ohio, native also made her first collegiate start.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I'm really pleased with the way that we battled tonight in a tough environment. We let a couple things get away from us, but we kept coming back. Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard. I was really proud of how the team answered throughout the match. I thought we had some big performances today. Ryleigh Whitekettle was outstanding. We had so many people step up. I love the way that Amina [N'Diaye] came in off the bench."

Up Next
The Demon Deacons conclude their opening weekend tomorrow afternoon as they face Houston at 2 p.m.

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