North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack hosts Courtyard Midtown Invitational
9/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2011
Courtyard Midtown Invitational Central
RALEIGH, N.C.--NC State's red-hot volleyball team will play in its fourth consecutive weekend tournament, hosting the Courtyard Midtown Invitational at Reynolds Coliseum on Friday and Saturday.
The Wolfpack (9-1), which has won nine consecutive matches, will play host to Liberty at 7 p.m. Friday, the Citadel at 1 p.m. Saturday and Towson at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
All three of the Pack's matches will be live-streamed on GoPack.com's All-Access for free. For more information, updates and results from this weekend's tournament, go to the Courtyard Midtown Invitational Central page above.
Tournament schedule
Friday
Towson vs. Citadel, 4 p.m.
NC State vs. Liberty, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Towson vs. Liberty, 11 a.m.
NC State vs. Citadel, 1 p.m.
Citadel vs. Liberty, 5:30 p.m.
NC State vs. Towson, 7:30 p.m.
NC State (9-1) vs. the field...
Citadel (4-2)
Last meeting: 2009 (NC State, 3-0)
Series record: NC State leads, 2-0
Towson (10-3)
Last meeting: 1996 (NC State, 3-0)
Series record: NC State leads, 2-0
Liberty (4-6)
Last meeting: 2008 (Liberty, 3-0)
Series record: NC State leads, 5-2
GLASS HONORED BY ACC: Freshman Nicole Glass of Colorado Springs, Colo., became the first NC State player to win ACC Freshman of the Week honors, the ACC announced on Sept. 12. The weekly award for newcomers was instituted for the 2010 season.
She is also the first Wolfpack player to win either freshman or player of the week since Alex Smith was named co-player of the week for Aug. 30, 2010.
Glass earned a spot in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season, along with fellow freshmen Rachel Buckley and Alston Kearns. At the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Tournament last weekend in Wilmington, Glass earned Most Valuable Player honors with 39 kills, a .333 hitting percentage,21 digs and 10 total blocks. She's the second Wolfpack player in consecutive weeks to earn a tournament MVP award. Sophomore Brie Merriwether won the award a week earlier at NC State's Courtyard Midtown Classic at Reynolds Coliseum.
MORE HONORS: Five Wolfpack players have been recognized for their tournament performances this season. In addition to Glass and Merriwether, seniors Margaret Salata and Luciana Schafer have also earned all-tournament accolades.
Merriwether and Shafer were part of the Courtyard Midtown Classic all-tournament team, while Glass, Shafer and Merriwether were named to the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire all-tournament team.
WINNING STREAKS: The Wolfpack has won nine consecutive matches since losing its season-opener against Appalachian State. That matches the longest winning streak since the Wolfpack set the record of 12 in a row in 1987 and went on to win the ACC championship.
State last won nine straight games in 1996. It had the 12-game winning streak in 1987, and streaks of nine in 1981 and '80, 10 in 1979 and 11 in 1980.
A LOTTA SALATA: Senior middle blocker Margaret Salata has been a steady performer since arriving from Buffalo Grove, Ill., four years ago for the Wolfpack. This season, she has been effective during the Wolfpack's nine-game winning streak. She's ranked in the ACC's top 10 in four different categories: hitting percentage (5th, .387), kills (8th, 3.36 per set), blocks (8th, 1.07 per set) and points (4th, 4.21 per set).
MS. ASSIST: Wolfpack junior Megan Cyr leads the ACC and ranks 22nd nationally with 11.35 assists per set. In 35 games over 10 matches this season, Cyr has notched 350 of the Wolfpack's 451 assists this season.
She's had two three-set matches with at least 40 assists and one with 39, which gives her three of the top four totals for three-set matches this season in the ACC.
