North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack to Face Rival Tar Heels Tonight
11/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 2, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State volleyball team will make the short trip to Chapel Hill tonight to face Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina. The Wolfpack will look to grab its first conference victory of the season when it battles the Tar Heels at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Carmichael Auditorium.
NC State's (10-16, 0-12 ACC) offense is led by junior middle blocker Adeola Kosoko and senior outside hitter Melanie Rowe. Kosoko currently features a team-best 279 kills off a .295 hitting percentage, while Rowe follows closely behind with 277 kills of her own. But perhaps the biggest story of the season for the Pack has been its defensive play at the net, helping NC State to lead the conference in total blocks.
With 146 total blocks thus far, junior middle blocker Stefani Eddins enters tonight's match-up needing only four more blocks to tie the school record (150) for the most blocks in a single season. And if history has anything to tell, Eddins has a good chance to accomplish such a feat. Back on October 5th, their first meeting of the 2004 season, Eddins finished with a career-high 12 total blocks against UNC, tying the school record for most blocks in an ACC match. Meanwhile, freshman libero Andrea Bentley continues to lead the team in digs with 277, and freshman setter Lauren Markowski will again look to help anchor the offense, as she adds to her team-best 887 assists.
Outside hitters Molly Pyles and Dani Nyenhuis lead the Tar Heels (15-11, 8-4) in kills with 379 and 359 respectively, and junior setter McKenzie Byrd has dished out 1050 assists thus far. Defensively, senior middle hitter Katie Wright will look to add to her already impressive total of 102 blocks, while sophomore middle hitter Amy Beaver will try to get even closer to the 100-block mark as she enters with 87 of her own. North Carolina has also gotten solid play from senior defensive specialist Caroline deRoeck with a team-best 427 digs.
