North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
8-1
Georgia
5-4
Wolfpack Volleyball Tames Bulldogs; Wins Georgia Invitational
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. – The NC State women’s volleyball team claimed the Georgia Benson Hospitality Invitational title with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 31-19) win over the host Bulldogs Saturday night inside the Ramsey Center. After dropping the first set, the Wolfpack roared back to win the next three frames.
NC State has now won eight consecutive matches to run its record to 8-1 on the year and Georgia falls to 5-4 in 2014.
Bunn’s Beat
On winning the Georgia Invitational…
“We didn’t play too well yesterday, but we responded with a much better effort today,” said head coach Bryan Bunn. “I challenged the team to better defensively today and they really stepped up to the challenge.”
On Kaitlyn Kearney’s play throughout the weekend…
“She does a nice job of taking care of the ball and doesn’t make many errors. She also sees the block well and does a good job of hitting around it. She was named the MVP of the tournament and she deserved it.”
On freshman Perry Ramsey’s play tonight…
“She’s playing much more confidently now than she was a few weeks ago. She did a really nice job for us in the O2 position. Perry was doing a good job of seeing the block as well and moving the ball around it.”
Worth Noting
- For the second consecutive weekend, the NC State women’s volleyball team won the tournament title.
- The squad also extended its match winning streak to eight, which is the longest for the program since the 2012 season when it won 10 consecutive matches.
- NC State collected is sixth win in the all-time series with Georgia and picked up its first win in the series since 1987. The two teams last met in 1990 and the Bulldogs lead the series, 7-6.
- The match proved to be a seesaw affair as there were 22 lead changes and the score was tied 40 times.
- After dropping the opening set, the Wolfpack played a very good second set and earned the win, 25-23, following back-to-back kills from freshman Perry Ramsey and junior Tanna Aljoe.
- In the third set, State jumped out to a quick 5-0 advantage forcing Georgia to use a timeout. Trailing 22-21 late in the frame, the Pack closed out the set on a 4-0 run.
- NC State found itself in an early hole in the fourth set, but chipped away at the lead to tie the score at 15. The Wolfpack fought off set point five different times in the frame to win it, 31-29.
Key Performers
- Freshman Kaitlyn Kearney was named the tournament MVP, while classmate Ramsey and senior Alston Kearns were also named to the all-tournament team.
- Three different players for the Wolfpack recorded 15 or more kills in the match, headlined by Ramsey with a career-best and match-high 17 kills.
- Kearney smashed 15 kills and committed only one error to record a .412 hitting percentage, while senior Dariyan Hopper also had 15 kills with a .379 attacking percentage.
- At the setter position, Aljoe recorded her first double-double of the 2014 season by dishing out 41 assists with 11 digs. Sophomore Maggie Speaks also appeared in the contest and had 11 assists.
- Defensively, Kearns led the way with 20 digs, while sophomore Rachel Eppley notched 11. Senior Alesha Wilson tallied five block assists and one solo stop in the contest.
Up Next
The Wolfpack will return to action at home this weekend when it hosts the Courtyard Midtown Invitational. State will take on Coastal Carolina in its first match of the weekend on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.
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