NC State Volleyball Turns Away Demon Deacons in 3-0 Sweep

Wednesday, November 23

Raleigh, N.C.

6 P.M.

NC State

19-12, 12-7ACC

Wake Forest

9-21, 5-14ACC

Wake Forest

NC State

Photo by: Chris Baird

NC State Volleyball Turns Away Demon Deacons in 3-0 Sweep

11/23/2016 8:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Junior Julia Brown leads all players with 16 kills

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team set the tone early and cruised to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-19) victory against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wednesday evening inside Reynolds Coliseum.

The Wolfpack moves to 19-12 on the season and 12-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, while the Demon Deacons fall to 9-21 and 5-14 in league action.

Worth Noting
- Junior Julia Brown had an excellent night for the Wolfpack with 16 kills on 35 attempts, with only one error, which came on an out-of-system set in the third, to record a .429 attacking percentage.
- NC State earned its ninth sweep of the season and sixth in ACC play.
- The Wolfpack came out on fire in the first set, as the squad tallied a match-high .667 attacking percentage with 15 kills on 21 swings with only one miscue.
- NC State's Linda Hampton-Keith won the battle of the conference's first-year head coaches, as Bill Ferguson is also in his first year at Wake Forest.
- The Pack's 12 ACC wins matches the program record and the squad will have a chance to break the mark against Duke Saturday.

Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts…
"I'm really proud of our team and the way we responded today," said Hampton-Keith. "To come in and get a sweep at this point in the season when it's tough and the turnarounds are quick is impressive. Preparation time is limited this time of year, so to get a sweep against another team that has a first-year head coach as well was really nice."

On Julia Brown's performance…
"Sixteen kills in a three-set match is pretty nice. I think it's a result of her working incredibly hard throughout every play and that's something we talked with her about."

Match Rewind
- NC State opened the match strong by winning the first four points of the match to take a 4-0 advantage on the strength of two service aces by senior Rachel Eppley.
- Three consecutive points allowed the Wolfpack to grab a 13-10 lead in the frame to force a Wake Forest timeout.
- Sophomore Sarah Konchan put down a kill to give NC State an 18-13 lead and the Wolfpack closed out the frame by winning four of the final five rallies to win it, 25-18.
- Wake Forest won the first few points of the second set, but the Pack countered quickly with three unanswered to even the score at 3-3.
- With the score knotted at 10, NC State finished the set on a 15-5 run to claim it, 25-15, highlighted by seven straight points with Grace Irvin at the service line.
- Brown smacked seven kills in the frame on 16 attempts and did not have an error.
- In the third set, NCSU used an 8-1 run to take control of the frame at 14-10, following a kill by freshman Jessica Kemp.
- Leading 23-21, Konchan recorded a solo block to give NC State match point and Kemp converted two points later with a kill to lift the Pack to the third set win, 25-19, and 3-0 victory in the overall match.

Top Performers
- Brown led all players in the contest with 16 kills, while classmate Kaitlyn Kearney contributed eight kills.
- Kemp swatted six kills on 10 swings without an error to tally a .600 attacking percentage and Konchan also pitched in with six.
- At setter, senior Maggie Speaks dished out a match-high 39 assists to go along with eight digs, three blocks and two kills.
- Defensively, Eppley led all players with 19 digs and Irvin collected 10. Kearney contributed six blocks.

Up Next
NC State will conclude its regular season slate Saturday afternoon when it hosts the Duke Blue Devils on senior day. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. first serve inside Reynolds Coliseum and it will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra.