NC State Volleyball to Host Syracuse Friday, Boston College Sunday

Weekend Schedule
Friday, Oct. 21
Syracuse | 6 p.m. | Reynolds Coliseum
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Sunday, Oct. 23
Boston College | 2 p.m. | Reynolds Coliseum
Live Video | Live Stats | Twitter

RALEIGH, N.C. – Following a weekend on the road, the NC State volleyball team returns to Reynolds Coliseum this weekend to host Syracuse Friday and Boston College Sunday.

First serve of Friday's match is slated for 6 p.m., as basketball's Primetime With the Pack event will follow on the court. Fans are encouraged to come early with the event expected to reach capacity.

Sunday the Wolfpack will take on the Boston College Eagles at 2 p.m. in the squad's annual Kay Yow Pink Match. Both contests will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App.

NC State enters the weekend with an 11-9 overall record and 4-4 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play. The Syracuse Orange are 5-13 and 4-4 in league action, while the Eagles own a 5-13 overall mark and a 0-8 clip in conference play.

Last Time Out
The Pack dropped a 3-0 decision at Notre Dame in its most recent outing on Sunday. Despite the result, NC State was competitive in the contest and recorded more digs than the Fighting Irish, 58-51.

Scouting Syracuse
The Syracuse Orange are the first team that NC State will face for the second time in ACC play this season. It is also the first time that the teams will meet twice in a season as conference opponents. They have met only once in each of the past three seasons.

NC State leads the all-time series against Syracuse, 7-2, including a 3-1 mark as ACC opponents. The Wolfpack won the first meeting between the teams this season in New York on Sept. 25 in straight sets, 3-0. Sophomore Teni Sopitan led NC State offensively in that contest with 14 kills, as the Pack finished the match with a .340 attacking percentage, third highest this season.

The 'Cuse were swept at Georgia Tech in their most recent outing on Sunday, 3-0.

Mackenzie Weaver leads the Orange offensively with 2.73 kills per set, while Anastasiya Gorelina is second on the squad with 2.40 kps. At the setter position, Jalissa Trotter has handed out 6.74 assists per set and libero Belle Sand has collected 3.91 digs per set.

As a team, Syracuse has an attacking percentage of .166 and opponents have a .220 clip.

Scouting Boston College
The Boston College Eagles have struggled this season and are still in search of their first ACC win. The Eagles are 5-13 overall and 0-8 in conference action. BC dropped a hard-fought match at Clemson in its last outing, 3-2.

NC State and Boston College have met 18 times in the history of the programs, with all of the matchups as conference opponents since the Eagles joined the league in 2005. The series is knotted at 9-9, after BC earned a 3-1 win on its home court last year to snap a streak of seven consecutive wins by the Wolfpack.

Sol Calvete leads the team offensively with 2.53 kills per set, while Julia Topor has put down 2.14 kps. Camille Oemcke and Jane DeJarld have split time at the setter position with the former passing out 6.18 assists per set and the latter 4.98 aps. Defensively, libero Devon Michaelis has recorded 3.35 digs per set.

Boston College has a team attacking percentage of .185 and opponents have compiled an average of .242.

Approaching Milestones
Junior outside hitter Julia Brown enters the weekend just five kills shy of 700 for her career. The Davidson, N.C., native has 290 this season, after swatting 320 as a sophomore and 85 as a freshman.

Rachel Eppley owns 97 career service aces and needs just three more to reach 100. The senior libero would become just the second player in the rally-scoring era of the program to reach the milestone.

Moving Up the Rankings
Setter Maggie Speaks has moved up to fifth place in the NC State records books for career assists with 2,754. The senior from Camden, S.C., now owns the second most in the rally-scoring era behind All-American Megan Cyr.

Defeating the Champs
Last week, NC State took down the defending ACC Champion Louisville Cardinals in straight sets, 3-0. More impressively, the Wolfpack did so in its first-ever trip to Louisville.

Leading The Way
Brown leads the ACC with 11.76 attacks per set and tops the column in total attacks this year with 847. Her average in attacks per set ranks 15^th in the NCAA.

Lucky Number Two
NC State has won the second set in 13 of its 20 matches this season. The Wolfpack has scored 462 points in the frame, the most in any set in 2016, and has allowed 402 points, the largest margin in a set.

The Pack has won the second set in 10 of its 11 wins in 2016.

Tale of the Tape
The Wolfpack has posted an 8-1 record this season when recording more blocks than its opponent. In contrast, NC State has lost eight of nine matches when being out-blocked and is 1-0 when blocks are equal.

The Higher, The Better
NC State has tallied more kills than its opponent in all 11 wins this season. The Pack has lost just three matches when recording more kills.

In addition, NCSU's hitting percentage has been higher than opponents in 10 of its 11 victories.

#STATEment

NC State Volleyball to Host Syracuse Friday, Boston College Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Julia Brown

Rachel Eppley

Teni Sopitan

Maggie Speaks