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Final: NC State 3 UVA 1
September 29, 2024
Raleigh, NC- NC State Volleyball (7-3, 2-0) returned to the court on Sunday as they took on the Virgina Cavaliers (11-2, 1-1) seeking their 13th consecutive over the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have had a resurgent season after finishing 11-17 in the 2023-2024 season. The Cavaliers finished with just 4 conference wins in the ACC last season, however earned an ACC-opening 3-2 win against Wake Forest on Friday Night.
NC State was also coming off their ACC-opening night win against Virginia Tech in a 3-0 sweep. The win for the Wolfpack marked the 199th ACC win in program history. The Wolfpack went hunting for that 200-win milestone on Sunday against the Cavaliers who came in winners of 8 matches in a row. The Wolfpack would only need 4 sets to collect ACC #200.
1st Set
The first set was a hotly contested one with each team having no larger than 3-point lead at any time during the early part of the first set. At the first media timeout, NC State held a slim 15-12 lead and would extend the lead out to 17-12 before the Cavaliers were forced into a timeout. The lead was five at 18-13 at the timeout. NC State would extend the lead to 8 after the timeout at 22-14. The Wolfpack would take the first set 25-16 to take the 1-0 lead.
NC State was paced by Ava Brizard with 6 kills in the first set. Courtney Bryant was next up with 3 kills of her own. Madison Williams and Sophie Groom each had 2 kills apiece. The Wolfpack defense was on full display as well with 22 digs 3 blocks in the first set.
2nd Set
The Cavaliers came out in the second set motivated and energized. After a quick 6-4 lead, the Wolfpack took a timeout to try and halt the momentum. Virginia would take advantage of a combination of service and return errors to build on the lead to take a 12-7 advantage forcing a 2nd timeout for NC State.
After the timeout, the Cavaliers would build on their lead taking a 16-9 advantage midway through the set. The Wolfpack would cut the lead to 19-16 forcing a UVA timeout. UVA would land a crucial point with the score 19-18 to give them the 20-18 lead. They would not lose the lead after and took the set 25-20. The set win for Virgina would tie the match up at 1 set each.
The Wolfpack totaled 9 team errors in the second set to aid the Cavaliers in the set win including 5 return errors and 4 service errors. Ava Brizard still led the team with 7 total kills after 2 sets and Sophie Groom stepped up with a total of 5 kills to become the team’s 2nd leading attacker. NC State showed a ton of resiliency and fight to come back, however they would fall just short.
3rd Set
Both Teams would come out hot in the 3rd set, and both teams showed high-quality volleyball to start the set. The score was tied at 6 each, when the Wolfpack used a 4-0 run to take a 10-6 lead. UVA would take a timeout with the score 12-7 in favor of the Wolfpack. NC State cut down on the errors to maintain the edge in the set. The Wolfpack would take the set 25-21 to take the 2-1 lead. Amanda Rice came on strong in the 3rd set as she earned another double-digit kill performance. Her 11 total kills led all NC State attackers. Ava Brizard continued her strong play with another 3 kills in the set to up her total to 10.
4th Set
The fourth set would be another tightly contested set as the two teams would remain tied early in the set at 8-8. NC State would seize control of the set in the middle of the set as they took a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Ava Brizard added another 6 kills in the set to lead the team with 16 total for the game. Amanda Rice added 4 to finish right behind Brizard with 15 kills.
The Wolfpack would continue to keep the Cavaliers at bay throughout the set. Each time Virginia got close, the Wolfpack had the answer. Whether it was Rice, Brizard, Groom, or Bryant or another member of the Pack, NC State answered the call. The Wolfpack would take the 4th set as well by the score of 25-19. It was set and match NC State with 3 sets to 1 win.
Next up for the Wolfpack is a weekend trip to California to take on #3 Stanford on Friday night and a Sunday trip to Berkeley to take on the California Bears.
Post-game Interviews
Head Coach Luka Slabe
Ava Brizard
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