North Carolina State University Athletics
Volleyball Opens ACC Play On Friday
9/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2011
NC State (12-1 overall,0-0 ACC) at Boston College (4-8, 0-1)
Time: 7 p.m., Friday
Place: Power Gym, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Gametracker
NC State at Maryland (7-6, 1-0)
Time: 2 p.m., Sunday
Place: Comcast Center, College Park, Md.
Gametracker
RALEIGH, N.C. - After winning 12 of its 13 non-conference matches - including a school-record-tying 12 in a row - NC State's volleyball team will conclude the regular season with 20 consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference matches, beginning this weekend at Boston College on Friday at 7 p.m. and Maryland on Sunday at 2 p.m.
This weekend's action begins a five-match road trip for the Wolfpack, which plays away from Reynolds Coliseum until hosting No. 21 ranked Miami on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. Last season, in head coach Bryan Bunn's first season at the helm, the Wolfpack won four ACC contests, its most in more than a decade. Two of those wins came against the Eagles, both at Reynolds Coliseum and at BC's Power Gym.
So far this season, Boston College owns a 4-8 record, having played all but one of its 11 matches so far on the road in four different early-season tournaments. The Eagles opened ACC play Tuesday night with a home loss to Maryland.
Maryland is 7-6 thus far this season, with five of its wins coming in the two tournaments it has hosted in College Park, Md. The Terps took a 3-0 decision over the Eagles Tuesday night.
WINNING WAYS: Though not ranked, NC State owns the ACC's best winning percentage (.923) heading into the fifth week of the season.
The Wolfpack and No. 21 Miami have the ACC's fewest losses so far, with one apiece. The Hurricanes (9-1 overall, 0-1 ACC) lost their ACC opener against Wake Forest, while the Wolfpack lost its season-opener against Appalachian State.
MORE MVPs: Junior setter Megan Cyr of St. Andrews, Manitoba, Canada, was named the Most Valuable Player at the Wolfpack's Courtyard Midtown Invitational last weekend at Reynolds Coliseum, making her the Pack's third tournament MVP in as many weeks.
Cyr, who leads the ACC with 11.35 assists per set, had the Wolfpack's balanced offense clicking, with three consecutive 3-0 victories over Liberty, The Citadel and Towson. In nine overall sets, the transfer from Colorado had 104 assists and nine kills.
She was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Margaret Salata, a senior middle blocker from Buffalo Grove, Ill., and Kelly Wood, a senior librero from Yadkinville, N.C.
Sophomore Brie Merriwether was named the MVP of the Wolfpack's first tournament of the season, the Courtyard Midtown Classic on Sept. 2-3. Teammate Luciana Shafer was also named to the all-tournament team.
Freshman Nicole Glass was named the MVP of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Tournament in Wilmington Sept. 9-10, with senior Margaret Salata and Merriwether joining her on the all-tournament team.
ROOKIES GALORE: Following her MVP performance, freshman Nicole Glass of Orlando, Fla., was named the ACC Freshman of the Week for Sept. 12, becoming the first Wolfpack rookie to win the award since its inception in 2010. Glass is one of four freshmen who have started for the Wolfpack this season, along with Rachel Buckley of Carrollton, Texas; Dariyan Hopper of Minooka, Ill.; and Alston Kearns of Apex, N.C.
In all, the Wolfpack has nine true freshmen among its 11 newcomers. Others who have seen action this season are Ana Asher of Crozet, Va.; Laura Blab of Wimberley, Texas; Rachel Frick of Charlotte; Hannah Thompson of Henderson, N.C.; and Alesha Wilson of Keller, Texas.
NC State also has one redshirt freshman, Cal-Poly transfer Katie Ryan of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
OUT OF THE GATES: This is the third time in school history - and the first in more than three decades - that the Wolfpack has started the season with a 12-1 record. In 1980, State won 13 of its first 14 games en route to a 39-10 record. In 1979, the Wolfpack started 19-1 on its way to a 35-10 mark. The Pack's current 12-1 record is the third best start to a season in school history.
WINNING STREAKS: NC State's 12-game winning streak matches the best in school history. The 1987 team won a dozen straight games at the end of the season, bringing home the ACC championship along the way. The Pack, led that year by ACC Player of the Year Melinda Dudley and All-ACC selection Volire Tisdale, lost its final match of the season, a 3-0 defeat to Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. During the streak, head coach Judy Martino's team went 36-4, destroying Duke in the ACC championship match 15-11, 15-1 and 15-8. Martino won her third consecutive ACC Coach of the Year Award following the season.
1987 streak
NC State 3, Duke 2
NC State 3, Maryland 0
NC State3, Georgia 0
NC State 3, UNC 0
NC State 3, Georgia Tech 0
NC State 3, Clemson 0
NC State 3, Auburn 0
NC State 3, South Carolina 0
NC State 3, West Virginia 2
NC State 3, Florida State 2
NC State 3, Virginia* 0
NC State 3, Duke* 0
* ACC tournament
2011 Streak
NC State 3, Charlotte 0
NC State 3, Kennesaw State 0
NC State 3, NC A&T 0
NC State 3, Wisconsin 2
NC State 3, Western Carolina 0
NC State 3, Campbell 0
NC State 3, Charleston Southern 1
NC State 3, East Carolina 0
NC State 3, UNC Wilmington 0
NC State 3, Liberty 0
NC State 3, The Citadel 0
NC State 3, Towson 0
ALL BUT ONE: Since falling behind 0-2 to Wisconsin in the second round of NC State's Courtyard Midtown Classic, the Wolfpack has won 27 of the last 28 sets during its winning streak.
COMING UP ACES: No NC State individual player is ranked in the ACC Top 10 in service aces this season, but as a team the Wolfpack has a league-leading 1.51 aces per set. In 43 games this season, the Wolfpack has totaled 65 aces.
Senior Kelly Wood leads the team with 13 overall aces, followed by freshman Nicole Glass with 12 and freshman Alston Kearns with 10.
Wood's total is fifth in the ACC, but registers at .302 per set, which does not quite rank in the top 10.
FOGLE'S RETURN: When senior outside hitter Becah Fogle returned to the NC State lineup against The Citadel in the Pack's second match of the Courtyard Midtown Invitational, it was her first action in almost a year. Fogle, a regular starter and the Wolfpack's leading scorer early last season, suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 8, 2010, in the final set of a 3-1 loss at Wake Forest.
She had surgery and spent more than 10 months rehabilitating her reconstructed knee. Though she was cleared to play just before the start of practice, Fogle needed nearly a month to get back into playing form.
"She's been close to returning for a while, but we were kind of holding her back until we saw that she was practicing and playing without fear," said head coach Bryan Bunn. "We saw that [last] week."
