North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Volleyball Beats Duke in a Thriller
10/2/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 2)-- The NC State volleyball team knocked off Duke, 15-4, 8-15, 15-8, 15-17, 15-9 in Reynolds Coliseum. With the victory, the Wolfpack moves to 10-10 on the season with a 1-3 ACC mark while the Blue Devils fall to 5-7 overall with a 1-3 ACC record. The victory also ended NC State's 21 match regular season loosing streak in ACC competition.
Charece Williams exploded for 33 kills in the match, one shy of the NC State record. Erin Vesey also fell one short of an NC State record as she tallied 84 assists in the match. Freshman Tara Greene had 19 kills and 29 digs in the match while Alison Kreager added 18 kills and 15 digs of her own.
Duke was paced by Dominiue Phillip (15 kills and 11 digs) and Jill Sonne (13 kills and 10 digs). Setter Nina Rybak added 45 assists and 10 digs to the Blue Devil's cause.
The Pack came out hot in the first game as it quickly held a 11-1 advantage before disposing of the Blue Devils 15-4.
Duke seemed to rally following its first game defeat as they hopped in front of the Pack 9-0. After a quick NC State rally moved the Pack to with in four points, at 12-8, Duke settled down to even the match with a 15-8 victory.
The third contest saw Duke leap out the an early advantage at 7-3. Following a time out by the Pack's head coach, Kim Hall, NC State rebounded to tie the game at eight apiece. Duke's Jolene Nagle countered with a time out of her own but she couldn't stymie the Packs momentum as Alison Kreager accounted for the next three points to help the Pack top the Blue Devils 15-8, and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
In the fourth game Duke showed that they wouldn't give in to the Wolfpack. While NC State popped out to an early 10-6 lead and held match point on five separate occasions, Duke hung in to take the game 17-15 and force a fifth and decisive game.
In the final game NC State proved to be rude hosts as they took an early 8-2 lead in rally-match play. After the Blue Devils closed the gap to two, at 11-9, NC State regained its composure and capped of the match with four straight points to win the game and take the match.
The Pack's next match will be in Clemson against the 13th ranked Tigers on Tuesday, October 5. Clemson is in the midst of a 14 match-winning streak but the Pack look to win in Jervey Gymnasium for the first time since 1995.
NC State (10-10, 1-3) defeated Duke (5-7, 1-3): 15-4, 8-15, 15-8, 15-17, 15-9.
Kills: NC State-89 (Charece Williams, 33), Duke-63 (Dominique Phillip, 15).
Digs: NC State-107 (Tara Greene, 29), Duke-76 (Jami Ediger, 15).
Assists: NC
State-87 (Erin Vesey, 84), Duke-54 (Nina Rybak, 45).
