North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Lehigh
Wolfpack Volleyball Sweeps Day Two of Mountain Hawk Classic
9/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2004
The NC State volleyball team picked up two 3-1 wins Saturday against Columbia and Lehigh at the seventh annual Lehigh Mountain Hawk Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Wolfpack defeated the Lions of Columbia by the scores of 31-29, 27-30, 30-18 and 30-16, before handing host Lehigh its seventh loss of the season, 30-21, 22-30, 30-24, 30-19. With the two victories, NC State improves to 7-1 on the season, marking the best start under head coach Mary Byrne, and the best start in school history since the 1995 team posted a 7-1 record straight out of the gate. The seven wins also matches the win total for the Wolfpack in 2003. Columbia drops to 0-3 on the season, while Lehigh is a 1-7 overall.
On the weekend, the Pack went 3-0, taking first place in the tournament, while Byrne also had three of her players named to the all-tournament team. Junior middle blocker Adeola Kosoko and freshman setter Lauren Markowski were both honored as all-tournament selections, while junior middle blocker Stefani Eddins took home tournament MVP honors.
Against the Mountain Hawks, the Wolfpack fell behind early, 12-8 in game one, but managed to rally back due in part to a 15-4 run to take the game. Lehigh came back with a big run of their own in the second contest, building a 21-14 advantage and never looked back. But NC State would bounce back to take the third and fourth games en route to the tournament championship.
Leading the way for the Pack was senior outside hitter Melanie Rowe, who finished with 14 kills off a .273 attack percentage, while Eddins added 10 kills of her own to go with seven total blocks. Also recording double-figures in kills was freshman outside hitter Emily Bertrand, who finished with 10 kills and 10 digs. As for Lehigh, sophomore outside hitter Michelle Schwendenmann racked up a match-high 16 kills off a .205 attack percentage, to go along with 12 digs and two total blocks.
In its match versus Columbia, the Wolfpack picked up a key victory in game one, but the Lions came back in the following game, rallying from behind to take the contest. NC State would take control from there on out, easily defeating Columbia in games three and four to take the match. Rowe again led the way for the Pack, finishing with a match-high 17 kills to go with nine digs and four block assists. Bertrand and Kosoko also recorded double-digits in kills, with 11 and 12 respectively, while Markowski dished out 44 assists.
Defensively, Kosoko was quite impressive around the net, picking up three solo blocks and seven block assists, while freshman libero Andrea Bentley led the team with 16 digs. Freshman outside hitter Cassie Ligh recorded her first career double-double for the Lions, tallying 11 kills and 10 digs, while freshman right side Natalie Gerling added 11 kills of her own.
NC State now returns home for a Tuesday night match against in-state rival East Carolina. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum.
