North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
UNC-Wilmington
Volleyball Wins 9th Straight; Freshman Glass Takes MVP Honors
9/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 10, 2011
WILMINGTON, N.C. – NC State’s volleyball team cruised to its ninth consecutive victory Saturday night, with a 3-0 sweep of host UNC Wilmington in the final match of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Tournament.
Freshman Nicole Glass of Colorado Springs, Colo., was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while teammates Margaret Salata, a senior from Buffalo Grove, Ill., and Brie Merriwether, a sophomore from Orlando, were both named to the all-tournament team.
Glass is the second Wolfpack player on consecutive weekends to earn MVP honors, following Merriwether, who was named MVP at last weekend’s Courtyard Midtown Classic at NC State's Reynolds Coliseum.
| Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Tournament | |
| Player | Team |
| Haley Collins | UNCW |
| Kelly Derby | ECU |
| Brie Merriwether | NC State |
| Margaret Salata | NC State |
| Sydney Tracy | ECU |
| Tournament MVP | |
| Nicole Glass NC State | |
In the tournament’s three matches, Glass had 39 kills, five service aces, 21 digs and eight total blocks.
“Nikki was outstanding all weekend, and we got good play from our middle blockers,” said second-year coach Bryan Bunn.
Against the host Seahawks, Glass played with confidence, recording a team-high 16 kills, along with two aces and seven digs.
In the tournament, Salata had 37 kills, an attack average over .500 percent, three service aces, eight digs and four total blocks. Merriwether was solid again in the middle, with 22 kills and five total blocks.
Earlier in the day, the Pack beat East Carolina and on Friday it topped Charleston Southern.
The Wolfpack (9-1) has matched its longest winning streak since the 1987 squad won the ACC championship, thanks in part to a 12-match winning streak during the heart of the season. The Wolfpack also had nine-game winning streaks in 1996, 1981 and 1980, as well as a 10-game winning streak in 1979 and an 11-game winning streak in 1980.
“We played pretty well,” Bunn said. “We're definitely seeing improvement throughout the lineup.”
NC State returns to Raleigh next weekend for the two-day Courtyard Midtown Invitational at Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack will play Liberty Friday at 7 p.m., The Citadel Saturday at 1 p.m. and Towson at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free to all matches.
“We still have a lot to work on this week,” Bunn said. “In particular, we need to get better on defense. Overall, though, we're pleased with how we played.”
