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September 27, 2024
Raleigh, NC– Friday Night The Old Barn was alive with action as the NC State Wolfpack volleyball team (6-3, 1-0) returned to the confines of Reynolds Coliseum for their ACC home opener. The Wolfpack, coming off a tough home loss last weekend in a 5-set thriller, returned to court seeking their first ACC win on the year.
The Wolfpack were able to bounce back though as ACC play started. The visiting Virginia Tech Hokies (6-5 , 0-1) made the trip from Blacksburg to open up their first ACC contest on the road. The series history coming into the match was even at 21-21 as both teams have exchanged matches since 1979. NC State was the winner in 2023 earning the 3-1 win as the Hokies finished 2023 at 13-16. NC State would come away with 3-0 win to give them the edge in the series.
1st Set
The first set saw both teams trading points early as the lead was tied at 4-4. The Wolfpack would rattle off 3 straight points and 6 of the next 8 to make it to make it 10-6. The score would be 15-12 in favor of the Wolfpack at the first media timeout as the Wolfpack looked fresh and were on the attack in the first set. Skye Stokes’ ace would force the Hokies to a timeout with the lead 17-12.
After the timeout, the Hokies would cut into the lead forcing the NC State timeout with the lead 21-18. The Wolfpack would hold off the Hokies charge though to earn the set win 25-21. The Wolfpack would take a 1-0 lead in the match behind the play of Amanda Rice and Ava Brizard. The 2 would lead the offensive attack in the first set for the Wolfpack leading with 4 kills each early in the 2nd set.
2nd Set
The Wolfpack would carry the momentum from the first set win into the second set as they took an early 10-6 lead. At the media timeout, the lead was extended out to 14-8 in favor of the Wolfpack as back-to-back aces from Naomi Cabello would give the Wolfpack all of the cushion they would need in the second set. The Hokies would be forced into a late set timeout down 20-10 as the Wolfpack continued to use their strong service game to keep continuous pressure on the Hokies. NC State would finish off the Hokies to take the 2 set to 0 lead with a 25-11 set win.
The Wolfpack were paced in the second set with 12 total kills and only 1 total error. NC State also finished with 5 service aces in route to a near perfect set. The Wolfpack also did not commit a service error in the second set on their way to a commanding lead. Courtney Bryant led the Pack with 7 kills and Amanda Rice was right behind with 6 of her own.
3rd Set
The third set was more of the same for the host Wolfpack as an early 6-1 run in the beginning of the set paced NC State to yet another strong set. The Hokies would take a timeout with the score 12-6 as they tried to keep the Wolfpack attack under control by slowing down the momentum. Out of the timeout the Wolfpack would continue to put the pressure on the Hokies extending the lead to 16-7. Amanda Rice, Courtney Bryant and Ava Brizard continued to lead the 3-pronged attack for NC State as they would help the Pack to another set win and match win. NC State would win the 3rd set in commanding fashion again 25-19. The set win earned NC State the sweep and a 1-0 start to the ACC season.
Next up for the Wolfpack is a Sunday Showdown with Virginia in Reynolds Coliseum at 1PM EST.
Post-game Interviews:
Coach Slabe
Courtney Bryant
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