Deacs to Conclude Homestand at DEACTOWN Invitational

Friday, September 11

Winston-Salem, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

East Carolina

9/10/2026 11:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

The Demon Deacons will host East Carolina, Georgia Southern and ETSU from Sept. 11-13 at Varsity Arena.

By: KJ Smith

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest volleyball team is set to conclude its seven-match homestand this weekend as they host the first annual DEACTOWN Invitational from Sept. 11-13 at Varsity Arena.

The Demon Deacons welcome in-state rival East Carolina, Georgia Southern and ETSU over the three-day tournament. The Deacs face the Pirates on Friday at 6:30 p.m., the Eagles on Saturday at 5 p.m. and the Buccaneers on Sunday at 2 p.m. Each team will play three matches throughout the weekend.

Admission is free for all spectators, and all three of Wake Forest's matches will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

The Matches
Friday, Sept. 11
Wake Forest (2-4, 0-0 ACC) vs. East Carolina (4-2, 0-0 American)
Varsity Arena - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 12
Wake Forest vs. Georgia Southern (3-3, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Varsity Arena - 5 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 13
Wake Forest vs. ETSU (0-5, 0-0 SoCon)
Varsity Arena - 2 p.m.

Accessibility Information
Wake Forest Athletics strives to provide content at all home events, on social media and on GoDeacs.com that is accessible to all fans. As part of its continued effort to improve accessibility of the technology and digital content at volleyball home matches this fall, fans can access closed captions here for the public address announcer and in-venue content.

Wake Forest Athletics is always open to learning about new ideas and ways we can improve. Please report accessibility challenges, identify content you find inaccessible, or give us general feedback at maddenr@wfu.edu.

Fan Information
There will continue to be free general admission seating for all home volleyball matches. The team plays each home contest in Varsity Arena, located on the third level of Reynolds Gymnasium (21 Wingate Road, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27109).

Parking is encouraged in lots J, U and W1. A complete parking map of campus is here.

Greek Wars
The first ever Greek Wars continues this weekend during the DEACTOWN Invitational. The fraternity or sorority chapter with the highest attendance across the next four matches will win a $1,500 donation toward their philanthropic efforts. The winners will also receive a framed, signed jersey for their chapter. Meanwhile, the second-place and third-place chapters will receive a pizza party for their chapter, all courtesy of Wake Forest volleyball.

Attendance will be tracked through each chapter's Deacon Cup rosters and will count towards their Deacon Cup standings.

Last Time Out

The Demon Deacons continued their seven-match homestand on Tuesday night as they hosted Mississippi State in the "Showdown at the Net" ACC/SEC Challenge.
- Freshmen Lyla Stewart and Emma Keeping both recorded double-doubles against the Bulldogs.
  - Stewart logged her first career double-double as she finished the match with 13 kills and a career-high 15 digs.
  - Keeping added 31 assists and 11 digs.
- The Demon Deacons logged eight blocks against Mississippi State.
  - Redshirt junior Catherine Burke led the team with five blocks, including one solo effort.
  - Redshirt senior Sanaa Williams added three block assists against her former team.

Double-Double Machine
Senior Patrycja Lagida has been on an impressive run, having totaled three double-doubles this season. The Chotomow, Poland, native recorded her first double-double of the season in the win over Houston, finishing the match with 14 kills and 13 digs. Lagida carried that momentum into the Wake Forest Invitational as she recorded double-doubles in the first two matches of the tournament, tallying 16 kills and 14 digs against Davidson and 15 kills and 15 digs in the win over UCF.

Looking at the League Numbers
Senior libero Andrea Roman currently sits inside the top 10 in digs per set heading into Tuesday's match:

Andrea Roman - 8th in digs (3.85/set)

Series History
Versus East Carolina

Series: Wake Forest leads, 19-7
Last Meeting: Sept. 16, 2025
Result: L, 2-3

Versus Georgia Southern

Series: Wake Forest leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 8, 2018
Result: W, 3-2

Versus ETSU

Series: Wake Forest leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: Aug. 31, 2013
Result: W, 3-1

Scouting the Pirates

East Carolina sits at 4-2 entering the DEACTOWN Invitational.
- ECU won its opening four matches of the season.
- The Pirates are coming off a 1-2 performance at the Clemson Invitational, having picked up a five-set win over App State in their opening match.
East Carolina is led offensively by outside hitter Ellie Pate, who has recorded 100 kills through the first six matches of the season and is currently averaging 4.17 kills per set.
Setter Taryn Gilreath has tallied 160 assists this season, giving her an average of 8.89 assists per set.
The Pirates have totaled 55 blocks in their first six matches, with Aulie Huff and Kai Bailey both recording 22 total blocks this season.
- Two other Pirates have logged double-digit blocks this season as Ekwe Anwah has notched 16 blocks and Nina Edwards has tallied 15 blocks.

Scouting the Eagles

Georgia Southern currently sits at 3-3 after recently winning all three of their matches at last weekend's GATA Challenge.
- The Eagle swept both Prairie View A&M and Radford before ending the tournament with a five-set victory over Eastern Kentucky.
Beka Pfefferkorn and Reagan Barth have combined for 123 kills this season, with Pfefferkorn recording a team-high 64 kills (2.78 K/S) and Barth adding 59 kills (3.47 K/S).
Bella Ekeler and Lexi Duffey have both totaled more than 100 kills through the first six matches.
- Ekeler leads the Eagles with 122 assists, or 5.30 assists per set, while Duffey has logged 108 assists for an average of 4.70 per set.

Scouting the Buccaneers

ETSU will be looking for its first wins of the season as they head into the three-match tournament at 0-5.
Makayla Bays leads the Buccaneers with 74 kills this season, while Karis Chatfield sits behind her with 69 kills.
Alex Kreutzmann eclipsed the 100-assist mark in ETSU's most recent match against William & Mary.
- Kreutzmann is currently averaging 4.59 assists per set.
Gianna Blair leads the Bucs with 19 total blocks this season.

Up Next
The Demon Deacons close out nonconference play next week as they travel to Greensboro, N.C. to face NC A&T on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m., before taking on Wofford on Friday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. in High Point.