NC State Volleyball Opens ACC Home Slate This Weekend

Friday, October 2

Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton HS Gym)

7:30 PM

NC State

Wake Forest

Photo by: Greg Mintel

NC State Volleyball Opens ACC Home Slate This Weekend

10/1/2015 11:02:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Wolfpack hosts Wake Forest Friday, Duke Sunday

By: Justin Wilson, Assistant Athletics Communications Director

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women's volleyball team will open its home Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule this weekend, when Wake Forest and Duke visit Raleigh. The Wolfpack plays the Demon Deacons on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and the Blue Devils at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Due to the ongoing renovation of Reynolds Coliseum, this weekend's matches will be held in Holliday Gym at nearby Broughton High School.

The Wolfpack owns an 11-3 record on the season and an 0-2 mark in ACC play. Wake is 9-5 and 1-1 in conference action, while Duke is 6-6 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Last Time Out
In its last outing of the season, NC State endured a tough road trip to start ACC play as the squad dropped a pair of 3-1 matches at Pitt and Virginia Tech.

Wolfpack in Home ACC Openers
NC State has won three of its last four ACC home openers, with the squad's last loss in 2011 versus Miami, 3-2. Last season, the Wolfpack swept Syracuse to start its conference home slate and earned a 3-1 victory against Notre Dame in 2013.

In 2012, NC State defeated UNC-Chapel Hill 3-1 to start its home conference slate. Sixth-year head coach Bryan Bunn is 3-2 in ACC home openers.

BLOCK Party
Last Friday against Pittsburgh, NC State tallied a season-high 20 blocks in the contest, which also stands as the most in program history during the rally-scoring era that began in 2001.

The Wolfpack had three blocks in the first set, seven in the second set, six in the third set and four more in the final frame.

Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney charted 12 blocks in the match to tie the program record and her career best.

Lucky Number Three
In 14 matches this season, NC State has only lost the third set twice. The Wolfpack is outscoring opponents in the frame, 344-257, the largest differential in any set this year.

Topping The Charts
Defense has always been one of Bunn's primary focuses and this season NC State leads the ACC and ranks 10^th in the NCAA in opponent hitting percentage with a .137 clip. The Wolfpack has also served tough and headlines the conference in that category with 1.76 aces per set, good for 17^th in the nation.

Individually, senior Morgan Cormier is first in the ACC and 15^th in the NCAA with .50 service aces per set. Kearney is listed at No. 9 in the NCAA and first in the conference in block per set with 1.50.

Scouting Wake Forest
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons head to Raleigh with a 9-5 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in ACC play. The Demon Deacons earned a 3-2 victory in their last outing at home against Virginia.

NC State and Wake have met numerous times in program history with the team's splitting the last four matchups, each with two wins.

Kylie Long leads the Deacs' offensively with 3.87 kills per set, while Matalee Reed is second on the team with 3.16 kps. Two players have split time at the setter position with Rachel Burau handing out 8.13 assists per set and Sophia Dodd passing out 7.27 aps. Defensively, Caroline Wolf paces the group with 4.78 digs per set.

As a team, Wake has compiled a .223 attacking percentage, while opponents have been held to a .203 clip.

Scouting Duke
Duke owns a 6-6 record on the year with a 1-1 mark in conference action. The Blue Devils dropped a 3-1 decision at home to Virginia in their most recent outing of the season. The Devils will travel to UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday prior to facing the Wolfpack on Sunday.

NC State has won two of the last three meetings against Duke at home, but lost to the Blue Devils in the team's lone meeting last season.

Emily Sklar, who averages 4.41 kills per set, leads the Blue Devils offensively. Maggie Deichmeister is the team's setter and has dished out 8.71 assists per set, while libero Sasha Karelov has collected a team-leading 4.61 digs per set.

Duke has a team hitting percentage of .242 and has limited opponents to .196.

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