North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Kennesaw State
Volleyball Sweeps A Pair of Matches
8/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 27, 2011
BOONE, N.C. - Bouncing back from its season-opening loss Friday night, NC State's volleyball team swept six straight sets Saturday afternoon to beat Charlotte, 3-0, and Kennesaw State, 3-0, in the second day of action at the Appalachian Invitational Tournament.
The youthful Wolfpack (2-1), with three freshmen starters in each of the three sets, was more consistent throughout the lineup, according to second-year head coach Bryan Bunn.
"We came out and fought from the beginning, which we really needed to do," Bunn said. "We were ready to play."
In the opening set, the Pack jumped out to an early lead and dominated the 49ers, thanks to the attacking play of two new outside hitters, freshmen Nicole Glass and Rachel Buckley. Glass led the team with 12 kills in the match, while Buckley added 10 and senior middle blocker Margaret Salata had 11.
Junior Alexa Micek led the team with 16 digs, while senior Kelly Wood added 13.
In the second match, the Wolfpack took a narrow 25-22 win in the opening set, then breezed to the overall victory with scores of 25-15 and 25-19. This time, Buckley led the team with 11 kills, followed by Salata with 10. Wood contributed 12 digs to lead the team.
The Wolfpack opens its home season next weekend by hosting a strong field of five collegiate teams in the NC State Invitational at Reynolds. The Wolfpack opens at 10 a.m. Friday against North Carolina A&T, followed by a 5:30 p.m. game against Wisconsin.
"We have to improve our defense and our blocking before next weekend," Bunn said. "We got some confidence from these two matches today, but we have a lot of work on this week before our tournament."
On Saturday, the Pack will play Western Carolina at noon, followed by a 7 p.m. match against Campbell.
All of the Wolfpack's games in the event will be streamed live, for free, on GoPack.com.
Full schedule
Friday, Sept. 2
10 a.m. NC State vs. NC A&T
Noon: Campbell vs. Wisconsin
2 p.m.: NC A&T vs. Western Carolina
5:30 p.m.: NC State vs. Wisconsin
7:30 p.m.: Campbell vs. Western Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 3
10 a.m. NC A&T vs. Wisconsin
Noon NC State vs. Western Carolina
2 p.m. Campbell vs. NC A&T
7 p.m. NC State vs. Campbell
