Deacs Finish Nonconference Slate with Five-Set Win Over Wofford

Friday, September 18

High Point, N.C.

4 p.m.

Wake Forest University

6-5,0-0ACC

Wofford

6-5,0-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Wofford	25	17	25	23	12	2
Wake Forest	20	25	18	25	15	3

PDF Box Score

Deacs Finish Nonconference Slate with Five-Set Win Over Wofford

9/18/2026 7:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Freshman Lyla Stewart matched her career-high with 18 kills to lead the Demon Deacons.

By: KJ Smith

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Powered by four Demon Deacons with 10 or more kills, the Wake Forest volleyball team (6-5, 0-0 ACC) closed out its nonconference slate with a five-set win over Wofford (6-5, 0-0 SoCon) on Friday afternoon at the Millis Center.

Freshman Lyla Stewart led the Demon Deacons as she matched her career-high with 18 kills against the Terriers. Stewart also finished with 15 digs as she logged the second double-double of her career.

Sophomore Amina N'Diaye added a solid performance off the bench as she set a new career-high with 14 kills. Meanwhile, graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle logged her seventh double-digit kill performance of the season as she totaled 13 kills, as well as a pair of blocks and an assist.

Elsewhere, redshirt senior Sanaa Williams logged 10 kills to go along with a team-high four blocks, while sophomore Sadie Poeck tallied a season-high nine kills off the bench.

Overall, the Deacs led the Terriers in kills, 67-57.

Senior Andrea Roman continued her solid start to the season as she logged 23 digs and nine assists. Meanwhile, freshman Ava Roddey led the Deacs with 29 assists.

With the win, Wake Forest finished above .500 in nonconference play for the seventh consecutive season. Additionally, the Demon Deacons are now 56-21 (.727) since the 2019 season against nonconference opponents.

How It Happened

Graduate student Ryleigh Whitekettle put the Deacs on the board first with a kill.
Sophomore Amina N'Diaye notched back-to-back kills to tie the set at 6-6.
Wake Forest rattled off three straight points to take a one-point lead.
- Whitekettle recorded a pair of kills while redshirt junior Catherine Burke added a kill during the run.
The Demon Deacons capitalized on a pair of errors to tie it back up at 12-12.
Following a kill by redshirt senior Sanaa Williams, N'Diaye notched a service ace to put the Deacs ahead by one.
Burke added another kill to put the Demon Deacons within one coming out of a timeout.
Williams logged her fourth kill of the first set to cut the deficit down to two.
Wofford won the first set, 25-20.
After the Terriers opened the second set on a 4-1 run, the Deacs went on a 4-0 run to take a one-point lead.
- Freshman Lyla Stewart capped off the run with her fourth kill of the match.
Stewart and sophomore Sadie Poeck recorded back-to-back kills to push the lead to 7-5.
Wake Forest pushed its lead to four points as Stewart added another kill before logging a service ace on the ensuing serve.
Following a short run by Wofford, Whitekettle hammered home another kill to make it 15-11 heading into the technical timeout.
Stewart added two more kills to put the Deacs up by six.
The Demon Deacons went on a 4-0 run to reach set point.
- N'Diaye tallied back-to-back kills to push the lead back to six points.
- Sophomore Kelis Hawkins added a kill before combining on a block with Whitekettle on the next point.
Whitekettle closed the set with another kill as the Demon Deacons won the second set, 25-17.
After trading points in the early stages of the third set, the Deacs rattled off three straight points to take a 5-3 lead.
- Senior Andrea Roman closed the run with a service ace.
Stewart ended a long run by the Terriers with a kill.
N'Diaye tallied three kills in a four-point span to cut the Wofford lead to 14-11.
Stewart made it a three-point deficit with her fourth kill of the set.
Wofford won the third set, 25-18.
Following a 6-1 run, the Demon Deacons recorded a five-point surge to tie the fourth set at 6-6.
The Deacs capitalized on a pair of Terrier errors to move within a point.
Williams and N'Diaye tied the set at 9-9 with a block.
- Williams gave the Demon Deacons the lead on the next rally with a kill.
N'Diaye logged back-to-back kills to tie the match once again.
Poeck and Whitekettle each logged a kill to make it 24-22.
Whitekettle added another kill to give the Deacs the 25-23 win in the fourth set.
Wake Forest clawed back from an early deficit in the fifth set as Stewart notched two kills in a row to make it 4-3.
The Deacs went on a five-point swing to take a four-point lead.
- Poeck and Williams combined for a pair of blocks during the run.
Williams added a service ace to put the Demon Deacons ahead by two points.
Keeping ended the fifth set with a service ace as the Deacs secured the five-set win.

Standout Stats

Four Demon Deacons recorded 10 or more kills against the Terriers.
- Lyla Stewart - 18 kills
- Amina N'Diaye - 14 kills
- Ryleigh Whitekettle - 13 kills
- Sanaa Williams - 10 kills
Stewart matched her career-high with 18 kills.
- The Powell, Ohio, native also recorded her second double-double of her career as she added 15 digs.
N'Diaye tallied a career-high 14 kills against Wofford.
Whitekettle logged her seventh double-digit kill performance of the season.

Additional Notes

The Demon Deacons took a 2-1 lead in the series against the Terriers.
- This marked the first meeting between the two schools since the 2016 season.
Wake Forest is now 5-1 in five-set matches this season.
Since the start of the 2019 season, the Deacs have posted a 56-21 record against nonconference opponents.
- Wake Forest holds a .727 winning percentage in non-conference matches during that span.

Season	Nonconference Record	Win Percentage
2026	6-5	.545
2025	6-5	.545
2024	8-3	.727
2023	9-2	.818
2022	8-3	.727
2021	9-2	.818
2019	10-1	.909
Overall	56-21	.727

From Coach Hulsmeyer
"I'm so proud of the battle this team brings to the court. We've had a lot of adversity and they just keep coming back. Sadie Poeck came in and really played well. She brought energy early and made some clutch plays in that crucial fifth set. We really need our fans there Friday night as we kick off ACC play against Duke. Last year's Duke match was a sell out, so make sure to come out early!"

Up Next
The Deacs return to Varsity Arena next week as they host Big Four rival Duke in their ACC opener on Friday, Sept. 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Admission is free for all spectators, and the match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.