NC State Volleyball Heads to Pennsylvania to Face Unbeaten Pittsburgh

Match 21	NC State (13-7, 8-1 ACC) at (RV) Pittsburgh (16-4, 9-0 ACC)
Date	Sunday, Oct. 22
Time	1 p.m.
Location	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Venue	Fitzgerald Field House
TV	ACC Network Extra
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Social Media	@Pack Vball

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team will head to Pennsylvania this weekend to face the unbeaten Pittsburgh Panthers Sunday afternoon. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. inside Fitzgerald Field House.

The contest will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App.

With a win, NC State would make history as the squad has never won at Pittsburgh, as the Panthers are 6-0 in previous matches held inside Fitzgerald Field House.

NC State owns a 13-7 overall record and an 8-1 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, its best start to conference in program history. Pitt has won its last 13 matches to run its record to 16-4 and 9-0 in conference action, the lone undefeated team in the league. The Panthers are receiving 14 votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll.

Last Time Out
In its last outing, NC State suffered its first ACC loss as the Wolfpack came up short at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack entered the contest undefeated, but the Tar Heels earned the 3-1 victory to avoid the season sweep.

NC State won the first meeting with UNC-CH earlier this season, 3-2.

Battle of the ACC's Top Offenses
Sunday's matchup will be a battle of the conference's top offenses, as NC State and Pitt rank among the top of the conference in every offensive category. Pittsburgh paces the ACC in team attacking percentage with a .283 clip and NC State is second with a .263.

The Wolfpack's 1,0005 total assists lead the league, but the Panthers' 13.25 assists per set is tops in the ACC. NC State has more total kills than Pittsburgh (1,061-1,023), but Pitt's 14.41 kills per set average is the best in the conference.

Kearney Reaches Milestone, Inches Closer to Another
Senior Kaitlyn Kearney broke the program record for career blocks on Wednesday night at UNC-Chapel Hill, as she tallied the 498^th block to break the previous record held by Pam Vehling. The Frisco, Texas, native needed just two blocks in the contest to achieve the record and earned it in the fourth set.

Kearney's 501 career blocks is the fifth-most blocks among NCAA Division I Volleyball players and the most in the ACC.

Additionally, she is just 13 kills away from reaching 1,000 for her career as she has 987 to her credit. She would become the third player on the Wolfpack to reach the milestone.

Starting Fast
In 20 matches this season, NC State has only dropped the opening set in five matches. The Wolfpack is outscoring opponents in the first set, 489-419, to take an early lead in contests.

Scouting Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Panthers are having one of its best seasons in program history with a record of 16-4 overall and 9-0 in ACC action. Pitt is the only team in the conference that is receiving votes for the AVCA Top-25 Poll, as they collected 14 votes in the most recent poll.

In their last outing, the Panthers defeated UNC-Chapel Hill in straight sets, 3-0, Friday night inside Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt's last loss was a 3-2 decision at Western Kentucky.

Nika Markovic leads the team offensively with 248 kills, an average of 4.00 kills per set, which ranks fourth in the ACC. Outside hitter Stephanie Williams is right behind her with 226 kills, averaging 3.23 kps. At setter, Kamalani Akeo is third in the conference with 10.49 assists per set and libero Angela Seman has collected 3.49 digs per set.

NC State Volleyball Heads to Pennsylvania to Face Unbeaten Pittsburgh

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Players Mentioned

Kaitlyn Kearney