North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
East Carolina
NC State Volleyball Fights Off Pirates, 3-1
9/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 14, 2004
Three players, led by junior middle blocker Adeola Kosoko, finished with double-digits in kills to help lift the NC State volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over non-conference foe East Carolina Tuesday night at Reynolds Coliseum. Kosoko had a career-high 18 kills off a .500 attack percentage, while senior outside hitter Melanie Rowe and freshman outside hitter Emily Bertrand added 13 and 12 kills respectively, as the Wolfpack defeated the Pirates by the scores of 30-23, 30-27, 25-30 and 30-24. With the win, NC State improves to 8-1 on the season, the best start in school history since 1982, when the Wolfpack started the season 11-1 before losing two in a row. The loss bumps ECU to 5-5 overall.
NC State jumped out on the Pirates early on, easily taking game one by the score of 30-23. But East Carolina would make the second game a little more competitive, as the two teams swapped points until the Pack finally rallied to a 30-27 victory. Again the Pirates would storm back, this time in the third contest, but unlike the previous game, ECU would dominate NC State, forcing a fourth game with a 25-30 win. The Wolfpack started out sluggish in game four, but with the help of its defense, ninth in the nation in blocks per game (3.32), NC State rallied back and closed the door on the Pirates, 30-24.
Freshman setter Lauren Markowski finished with 48 assists, while stepping up defensively with a match-high and career-best 18 digs on the night. Meanwhile, junior middle blocker Stefani Eddins again proved to be dominant at the net for the Pack, picking up seven total blocks against ECU. Overall, NC State finished with a .237 team hitting percentage and a 15-6 advantage in total blocks.
The Pirates featured four players in double-figure kills, led by junior outside hitter Pam Ferris, who had a match-high 19. Sophomore middle blocker Jaime Bevan, freshman outside hitter Kelley Wernert and junior outside hitter Erica Wilson added to that with 14, 13 and 12 kills respectively. Meanwhile, setter Heidi Krug racked up 55 assists to go with 10 digs.
NC State will now hit the road once again, as it heads to Conway, South Carolina to participate in the Coastal Carolina Classic this weekend. There, the Wolfpack will face Long Island on Friday at 4:30 p.m., followed by host Coastal Carolina at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and then Tennessee-Chattanooga at 4:30 p.m. later that day.
