Wake Forest Sweeps NC A&T to Pick Up Third Straight Win

Thursday, September 17

Greensboro, N.C.

5:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

5-5,0-0ACC

NC A&T

5-5,0-0CAA

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Wake Forest	25	25	25	3
N.C. A&T	20	10	23	0

PDF Box Score

Wake Forest Sweeps NC A&T to Pick Up Third Straight Win

9/17/2026 8:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Demon Deacons led the Aggies in kills, 45-37.

By: KJ Smith

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Led by a double-digit kill performance by freshman Lyla Stewart, the Wake Forest volleyball team (5-5, 0-0 ACC) picked up its third consecutive victory as it swept NC A&T (5-5, 0-0 CAA) on the road on Thursday evening at Moore Gymnasium.

Stewart led the Demon Deacons with 11 kills against the Aggies, while also recording eight digs, a pair of blocks and an assist. The Powell, Ohio, native has now recorded five matches with double-digit kills this season.

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle added nine kills to go along with a team-high three blocks, two digs and an assist. Whitekettle now leads the team with 120 kills on the year, including a combined 57 kills over her last four matches.

Elsewhere, sophomore Amina N'Diaye tallied seven kills, while redshirt senior Sanaa Williams and redshirt junior Catherine Burke notched five kills each.

Overall, the Deacs led the Aggies in kills, 45-37.

Senior libero Andrea Roman continued her solid start to the season as she finished the match with 18 digs. The Humacao, Puerto Rico, native also logged season-highs in both assists and service aces, totaling three assists and three aces on Thursday.

Roman has been one of the top defensive players in the league, totaling 178 digs this season, which currently leads the ACC. Additionally, her 4.14 digs per set ranks fourth in the conference.

Meanwhile, freshman Emma Keeping led the Demon Deacons with 22 assists, as well as three kills and three digs.

How It Happened

The Demon Deacons rattled off the opening five points of the first set.
- Freshman Lyla Stewart opened the set with a pair of kills.
- Following a pair of errors by NC A&T, sophomore Kelis Hawkins notched a solo block to make it 5-0.
Senior Andrea Roman recorded a service ace to put the Deacs up by six.
After the two sides traded points, Wake Forest went on a six-point run to push its lead to double digits.
- Freshman Emma Keeping began the run with a kill before graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle and redshirt senior Sanaa Williams combined for a block.
- Roman logged back-to-back service aces to make it 18-9.
- Williams capped the run with a kill to put the Demon Deacons up by 10.
The Deacs fought off a late surge by the Aggies to win the first set, 25-20.
Wake Forest opened the second set on an 11-0 run.
- Keeping logged the first point of the set with her second kill of the match.
- Whitekettle notched a block alongside redshirt junior Catherine Burke before adding a kill to make it 3-0.
- Following kills from Stewart and Burke, junior Dhru Lalaji notched a service ace to push the lead to seven.
  - Lalaji added her second ace moments later after a kill by Whitekettle.
- Keeping and Stewart each recorded a kill to end the run.
Burke tallied a solo block to put the Demon Deacons ahead, 16-5.
The Demon Deacons went on a short three-point spurt to push their lead to 14 points.
Wake Forest closed the second set on a 3-0 run to win the set, 25-10.
- Freshman Camille McCoy closed the set with a kill.
The Deacs capitalized on a pair of errors to take a two-point lead early in the third set.
Sophomore Amina N'Diaye recorded back-to-back kills to give the Demon Deacons an 8-5 lead.
After a 9-2 run by the Aggies, the Deacs rattled off four straight points to tie the set at 14-14.
- Stewart and Whitekettle both added kills during the run.
The two teams traded points before the Demon Deacons went on a three-point surge to reclaim the lead.
- Stewart logged her 10th kill of the match to tie the set at 20-20.
- N'Diaye recorded a service ace to put Wake Forest ahead.
The Demon Deacons went on another 3-0 run to get to match point.
- Whitekettle added a pair of kills during the run.
- Stewart also recorded her 11th kill of the match.
Whitekettle hammered home her sixth kill of the set as the Deacs won the third set, 25-23.

Standout Stats

Andrea Roman led the Demon Deacons with 18 digs on Thursday evening.
- The Humacao, Puerto Rico, native has totaled 178 digs this season, which leads the ACC.
  - Roman's 4.14 digs per set currently ranks fourth in the conference.

ACC Digs Leaders

Rank	Name	School	Digs
1.	Andrea Roman	Wake Forest	178
2.	Payton Peterson	Louisville	160
3.	Claire Luoma	Clemson	152
4.	Ivy Cooper	Virginia Tech	144
5.	Zuzanna Maciejewicz	NC State	142

ACC Digs per Set Leaders

Rank	Name	School	Digs/Set
1.	Ivy Cooper	Virginia Tech	4.80
2.	Payton Peterson	Louisville	4.41
3.	Zuzanna Maciejewicz	NC State	4.30
4.	Andrea Roman	Wake Forest	4.14
5.	Maya Evens	Notre Dame	4.10

Lyla Stewart recorded a team-high 11 kills against the Aggies.
- Stewart has now logged 10 or more kills five times this season.

Additional Notes

The Demon Deacons picked up their 12th consecutive win over the Aggies to improve their record to 16-2 all-time.
- Wake Forest has not lost a set to NC A&T since the 1981 season.
Since the start of the 2019 season, the Deacs have posted a 55-21 record against nonconference opponents.

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I thought this was a nice match of composure for us, especially in a tough environment. We did a really good job of executing our offense. I'm very proud of the way we hung in there to finish off this match in three sets."

Up Next
The Demon Deacons close out nonconference play on Friday afternoon as they face Wofford in a neutral-site match at High Point at 4 p.m. The match will also be streamed live on ESPN+.