#STATEMENT! NC State Volleyball Sweeps ACC Weekly Awards

GREENSBORO, N.C. – After earning an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) weekend sweep, NC State volleyball has also swept the weekly awards, as Julia Brown was named ACC Player of the Week and Grace Irvin was tabbed the Freshman of the Week Monday afternoon by the league office.

"Our whole team is proud of both Julia and Grace for their recognition this week," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "Our focus as a team was taking care of small details and it is nice to see them being recognized for their performances with the work they put in this week. I'm excited about the direction this program is heading and I'm fortunate to coach great athletes who are willing to work hard to help the team"

Brown had a fantastic weekend for the Wolfpack, as she broke the rally-scoring era program record with 31 kills against Syracuse Friday night, the most by any player in the ACC this season and most by an NC State player since 1999.

She shouldered the load for the Wolfpack with 77 total attacks in the contest, the most by any individual in the conference this season. Brown bested her career high in kills by 10 in the match and had already achieved the mark in the fourth set. The Davidson, N.C., native was on a roll in the second set, as she swatted 11 kills in the frame, the most by an NC State player in a set this season.

In addition, she collected 16 digs for her 11^th double-double of the season, which ranks second in the conference. Sunday, Boston College made it a point of emphasis to try and stop Brown, but she still put down 11 kills and had eight digs with a career-best six block assists.

For the weekend, she averaged 5.11 points per set, 4.67 kills per set, 2.67 digs per set and 0.78 blocks per set in nine sets played. Brown has been enjoying a special junior season, as she is third in the ACC in kills per set (4.10) and total kills (332).

Irvin was a vital piece of NC State's back row this weekend, as she collected 14 digs in Friday's five-set win against Syracuse and tallied seven digs in the Wolfpack's 3-1 victory versus Boston College. The Raleigh, N.C., native also did a great job passing for the Pack with only two reception errors on 17 attempts during the weekend.

For the two matches, she averaged 2.62 digs per set, 0.50 assists per set, 0.25 aces per set and points per set. The freshman has started 10 matches for the Wolfpack this season at defensive specialist and has contributed 175 digs or 2.46 digs per set, fourth on the squad.

The award is the first weekly honor for both players and the first time NC State has won both weekly awards since Nov. 14, 2011, when Margaret Salata earned Player of the Week and Dariyan Hopper garnered Freshman of the Week.

NC State's last weekly award winner was sophomore setter Becky Porter, who claimed freshman of the week last season on Nov. 2.

The Wolfpack returns to action Friday night when the Pack travels to Pennsylvania to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside Fitzgerald Field House and the match will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra.

#STATEment

North Carolina State University Athletics

#STATEMENT! NC State Volleyball Sweeps ACC Weekly Awards

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Julia Brown

Grace Irvin

Becky Porter

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