North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Appalachian State
Pack Volleyball Falls, 3-1, in Season-Opener
8/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2011
BOONE, N.C. - NC State's volleyball team dropped its season opener Friday night to host Appalachian State, 3-1, on the first day of action at the Appalachian Invitational Tournament.
Second-year head coach Bryan Bunn began the campaign with three freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup, in addition to senior middle blocker Margaret Salata, senior libero Kelly Wood and junior setter Megan Cyr.
The Mountaineers (1-0) jumped out to an early lead in the first set and held on for 25-19 wins in the first two sets. The Wolfpack (0-1) came back to win the evenly played third set, 25-23, winning off the serve of freshman outside hitter Nicole Glass.
The Mountaineers took a narrow win in the fourth set, 25-23, to secure the season-opening victory.
"We didn't really start fighting until the third set, and by then it was too late to make a comeback," Bunn said. "We seemed to be a little shell-shocked."
Bunn said Salata, the senior from Buffalo Grove, Ill., was the team's most consistent performer throughout the match. Salata led the team with 15 kills on the evening and a .407 attack average.
Defensively, Wood led the team with 15 digs, followed by Cyr with nine.
"We had some bright spots in each of the four sets, but we weren't very consistent," Bunn said.
The Wolfpack plays again on Saturday, with a 10 a.m. match against Charlotte and a 4:30 p.m. match against Kennesaw State, at ASU's Holmes Convocation Center.
