North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Liberty
Pack's Winning Streak Hits Double Figures
9/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2011
Courtyard Midtown Invitational Central
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State rolled to its 10th consecutive victory Friday night, taking a quick 3-0 win over Liberty at Reynolds Coliseum in the first day of the Courtyard Midtown Invitational.
It’s the Wolfpack’s longest winning streak since 1987, when the team won a school-record 12 in a row en route to the ACC championship.
Head coach Bryan Bunn’s team plays two more games on Saturday, facing The Citadel at 1 p.m. and Towson at 7:30 p.m.
“I think we are finally getting into a good rhythm,” said freshman Nicole Glass, who notched a team-high 10 kills against the Flames (4-7). “We had some jitters in the first tournament, but the last couple of weekends we have played well together.”
Against Liberty, the Wolfpack (10-1) was sharp in the first set, led by Glass’ six kills and 6.5 points. Liberty came back strong in the second set, but State’s well-balanced attack allowed produced a 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead.
In the final set, sophomore Brie Merriwether took charge, recording more than half of her nine kills. Freshman Rachel Buckley finished off the Flames with a game-winning kill.
In addition to Glass, the Wolfpack had three players with nine kills: Buckley, Merriwether and senior Luciana Shafer.
Junior setter Megan Cyr, who leads the ACC in assists per set, led the Wolfpack with 39 of the team’s 44 assists. Senior librero Kelly Wood had 12 digs, while freshman Alston Kearns added 11.
Senior Margaret Salata had eight kills, four digs and four total blocks for a team-high 11.5 points.
“We were solid all-around,” Bunn said. “Everyone did a nice job, and Megan was great at distributing the ball.
“We were a little too careless with the ball at times and made too many errors. That’s something we will look to correct tomorrow.”
In addition to the Pack’s two matches in the four-team tournament, Towson will face Liberty at 11 a.m. and The Citadel goes against Liberty at 5:30 p.m.
All results will be posted on this GoPack.com link.
