North Carolina State University Athletics
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Wisconsin
Pack Volleyball Storms Back With 3 Straight Over Wisconsin
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2011
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Complete Results | Courtyard Midtown Classic Central
RALEIGH, N.C. - Down 0-2 after the opening two sets, NC State made a fast and furious recovery, sweeping the next three sets against perennial Big Ten power Wisconsin Friday night to take a 3-2 victory at rowdy Reynolds Coliseum in the Courtyard Midtown Classic.
It was the second win of the day for the Wolfpack (4-1), which disposed of North Carolina A&T 3-0 in the opening match of the tournament.
It was a program-enhancing victory for second-year head coach Bryan Bunn, who is relying on 10 newcomers on his roster of 19 players.
"I think we lost our composure a couple times, which happens to a young team, but we got it back," Bunn said. "That's how you play volleyball. You might give up some points, but it's how you rebound that determines what kind of team and player you are.
"It's all about rebounding and coming back."
It's also about getting determined effort from talented players. Sophomore Brie Merriwetherprovided that against the Badgers (2-3), offering a team-high 14 kills and eight block assists on the night. She led the team with 19 points.
Senior Luciana Shafer, who had the match-winning point in the fifth set, added 12 kills on the night, with nine digs and 14 overall points. Junior Megan Cyr had 46 of her team's 51 assists on the night. Defensively, freshman Alston Kearns had a team-high 19 digs, followed by senior libero Kelly Woodwith 17 and Cyr with 15. For Bunn, the way his team came back to win was almost as important as beating a formidable opponent.
"That really builds confidence," the coach said. "Sometimes, you have to do things like that for the girls to really buy in to what we are teaching. That goes a long, long way."
Particularly strong in the final three sets was the blocking he got from Merriwether and freshmen Rachel Buckley and Nicole Glass. The Pack also got solid scoring from Buckley and freshman Laura Blab.
"Our blocking in the end - they really started grasping what we were talking about in the high attacks,"
Bunn said. "We also started scoring points on high swings. Sometimes, coming out of high school they don't believe you score on high swings. They think you have to hit down. That showed the first two sets.
"In the end, Megan kept getting the ball to Brie and she was really hot." In front of a rowdy crowd of 1,153 spectators - one of the largest in recent Wolfpack volleyball history - the two teams played evenly throughout the first set, with eight tie scores and two lead changes.
Glass had the set's only service ace to give the Wolfpack a 16-13 lead. But a couple of unforced errors and a kill by Wisconsin's Crystal Graff allowed the Badgers to tie the game at 17. The Wolfpack called time out after Wisconsin scored three in a row off the serving of Courtney Thomas and another from Graff to take a 24-20 advantage.
Wisconsin then won the set on a service error b
y the youthful Wolfpack, which had three freshmen in its starting lineup.
After recording a .411 attack percentage in the opening match against North Carolina A&T, the Wolfpack posted a .082 in the opening set against the Badgers.
In the second set, the Badgers built a double-digit lead and won the set on a kill by Thomas, 25-15. The Wolfpack had 11 attack errors and only seven kills, while the Badgers got strong play at the net by Graff, who had five kills.
In set three, the Wolfpack scored five straight points to break a 4-4 tie, picking up its play at the net from Merriwether and Blab. State led by as many as seven points midway through the set.
Wisconsin scored three times on Wolfpack errors, closing the gap to 15-10, but Shafer's kill and senior Margaret Salata'sblock at the net gave the Wolfpack its biggest lead, 18-11. Wisconsin scored three straight, forcing Bunn to call time out. The Badgers cut the lead to three on Graff's kill, but Cyr and Merriwether stopped the scoring run with a block at the net.
| 2011 Courtyard Midtown Classic | ||||
| | Friday | | ||
| Time | Game | |||
| 10 a.m. | NC State 3, NC A&T 0 | |||
| Noon | Wisconsin 3, Campbell 0 | |||
| 2 p.m. | Western Carolina 3, NC A&T 0 | |||
| 5:30 p.m. | NC State 3, Wisconsin 2 |
|||
| 7:30 p.m. | Western Carolina 3, Campbell 0 | |||
| Saturday | ||||
| 10 a.m. | Western Carolina vs. Wisconsin | |||
| 2 p.m. | NC State vs. Western Carolina | |||
| 7 p.m. | NC State vs. Campbell | |||
Buckley had a soft kill at the net, Kearns had a service ace and Merriwether rushed the net for a pair of kills a center court to win the set for the Wolfpack.
Wood opened the fourth set serving for the Wolfpack, which quickly built a 7-2 lead, forcing a Wisconsin time out. The Badgers won the next point, but Salata and Blab scored kills at the net to push the Wolfpack's lead to 9-3. Salata aced her next serve for a 10-3 lead.
The Wolfpack called time out after four consecutive Badger points, then let the lead slip to two points until Blab scored twice from the left side of the net. Wisconsin scored five more in a row to take a 13-12 lead, forcing another Wolfpack timeout.
The scoring run ended at eight consecutive points on Glass's kill from the left side. By then, the Badgers had a 16-13 advantage. The Wolfpack tied the score again off Wood's serving and the right side scoring by Buckley. Wood's service ace gave the Pack an 18-16 lead.
After three changes in serve, the score stood at 20-19 when Cyr made a left-handed kill to the right corner. Merriwether ended a long volley with a hard kill to the center of the court, forcing Wisconsin to call time out at 22-19.
Two blocks at the net by Merriwether and Glass gave the Pack a 24-20 advantage. Wisconsin scored four in a row to tie the game, then took the lead with a block at the net.
The Pack came back to win the set when Wisconsin hit the net, Merriwether smashed a kill in the center of the court and Kearns' serve was returned into the net. In the decisive set, the Wolfpack quickly won Wisconsin's opening serve off a kill by Glass and took a 2-1 advantage on a powerful smash by Merriwether. Buckley gave the Wolfpack a 5-4 lead with a pair of kills from the right side, giving her team the momentum to build a 12-8 lead. With Merriwether and Buckley protecting the net, the Pack continued its strong play, right through Shafer's match-winning kill for the 15th point.
The Wolfpack plays two more matches on Saturday, at 2 p.m. against Western Carolina and at 7 p.m. against Campbell. Admission is free to all games. Both games will be live streamed on GoPack.com's All-Access.
The original tournament was adjusted after North Carolina A&T forfeited its scheduled matches on Saturday because of an injury. The Aggies had only six players on the roster coming into the tournament.
Western Carolina added a match against Wisconsin, to be played at 10 a.m., while the NC State-Western Carolina match was moved to 2 p.m. The State-Campbell game will be played at its original time of 7 p.m.
Admission is free to all matches. All results will be posted on GoPack.com.
