North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Undefeated on First Day of Wyndham Garden Invitational
9/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept 10) - The NC State volleyball team excited the crowd this weekend at the NC State Wyndham Garden Invitational as they came from large deficits twice on Friday. In their first match, the Pack found itself down 2-1 before roaring back and taking a thrilling fifth game with a 16-14 score. In the night-cap, the Pack faced off against a tough Liberty squad that made the NCAA Tournament field in 1997 and won the Big South regular season title in 1998. The Pack once again were on the brink of defeat as they dropped the first two games, before rallying in the next three to take the victory. With its two victories, the Pack evened up its season record at 4-4.
The comeback in the first match was courtesy of strong bench play from sophomore Nikki Stemler who seemed to settle the Pack and get it on the correct path. Starters Charece Williams (18 kills), Stephanie Stambaugh (15 kills) and Alison Kreager (15 kills, 9 digs, .306 hitting percentage) also helped out.
The second match started off horrible for NC State as they seemed outmatched early on. After dropping the first game, the Pack lost a heart-breaker in the second as it held an early 9-2 lead before losing 13-15. After NC State rallied to take the third game, the Flames and Wolfpack squared off in an amazing fourth game that had a total of 11 game points between each side. In the end the Pack held its composure and forced a decisive fifth game with a 22-20 victory. In that fifth game, freshman Rebecca Anderson, a Raleigh, N.C. native, continued her impressive showing as she teamed up with Alison Kreager to close out an improbable victory over the Flames with a 15-10 game score.
In the second match, a new record was set for assists in an NC State tournament with 86 by Liberty's Michelle Howlan. NC State's Erin Vesey secured second in the tournament record books as she tallied 78 assists of her own.
Match-By-Match Tournament Results For Friday, September 10, 1999 Match 1: UMBC (2-3) defeated Campbell (2-4); 15-8, 13-15, 10-15, 15-11, 15-11 Kills: UMBC-63 (Muge Pars-19); Campbell-46 (Kara Lewis-12) Assists: UMBC-42 (Heather Kerley-53); Campbell-42 (Pam Hughes-38) Digs: UMBC-50 (Jill Riding-14); Campbell-41 (Tinsley Gordon-11) Match 2: Liberty (1-3) defeated Morehead St. (0-6); 15-5, 16-14, 15-10 Kills: Liberty-47 (Anthonia Akpama-18); Morehead St.-32 (Carla Imperatore and Tiffany Peters-7) Assists: Liberty-41 (Michelle Howlan-41); Morehead St.-28 (Rachell Messmer-15) Digs: Liberty-23 (Kyrie Dorn-5); Morehead St.-16 (Amy Adams-7) Match 3: NC State (3-4) defeated UMBC (2-4); 11-15, 15-6, 14-16, 15-13, 16-14 Kills: NC State-85 (Charece Williams-18); UMBC-83 (Jill Riding-20) Assists: NC State-77 (Erin Vesey-73); UMBC-77 (Heather Kerley-70) Digs: NC State-63 (Meredith Price and Charece Williams-13); UMBC-73 (Joanne Marshall-18) Match 4: Campbell (3-4) defeated Morehead St. (0-7); 15-9, 8-15, 0-15, 15-0, 15-13 Kills: Campbell-37 (Kara Lewis-11); Morehead St.-42 (Amy Almond-12) Assists: Campbell-35 (Pam Hughes-25); Morehead St.-38 (Rachell Messmer-21) Digs: Campbell-24 (Abby Jenkins-6); Morehead St.-31 (Rachell Messmer and Amy Adams, 6) Match 5: NC State (4-4) defeated Liberty (1-4) 13-15, 13-15, 18-16, 22-20, 15-10 Kills: NC State-92 (Alison Kreager-22); Liberty-98 (Anthonia Akpama-33) Assists: NC State-87 (Erin Vesey-78); Liberty-89 (Michelle Howlan-86) Digs: NC State-78 (Erin Vesey-25); Liberty-77 (Kyrie Dorn-18)
