Volleyball Sweeps Wake Forest to Remain Unbeaten in ACC Play at 5-0

Friday, October 6

Raleigh, N.C.

8 P.M.

NC State

10-6, 5-0ACC

Wake Forest

10-7, 2-3ACC

Wake Forest

NC State

Photo by: Greg Mintel, Bella Volpe

Volleyball Sweeps Wake Forest to Remain Unbeaten in ACC Play at 5-0

10/6/2017 11:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Wolfpack matches program’s best start in conference since 2012

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team earned its sixth sweep of the season and second consecutive in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play with a 3-0 (32-30, 25-18, 25-18) victory against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Friday night inside Reynolds Coliseum.

The Wolfpack would not be denied in the opening set, as NC State rallied from a late four-point deficit and fought off two Wake Forest set-point opportunities to grab a 32-30 win and momentum in the contest. As a result, the Pack never trailed in the second or third set.

NC State moves to 10-6 overall and remains a perfect 5-0 in ACC action, matching the best start for the program since 2012. Wake Forest falls to 10-7 and 2-3 in conference play.

Worth Noting
- NC State picked up its sixth straight win in the match and has won 10 of its last 11.
- The Wolfpack also earned its fifth consecutive win against the Demon Deacons in the all-time series.
- NCSU battled for the first-set victory and has claimed the opening set in 13 of 16 matches this season.
- The Pack remains unbeaten against in-state opponents with wins against Wake Forest, UNC-Chapel Hill, High Point and UNCW.
- NC State's .341 attacking percentage is the second highest of the year, best in a conference match and the Wolfpack is 4-0 when recording a mark better than .300.

Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts…
"I keep telling this team how proud I am of them, but it's true," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "They keep giving me different reasons to be proud, so that's a good thing. What I was most impressed with tonight was that despite our slow start, we started working our way back into it one play at a time.

"I'm proud of the fact that we found a way to gut out set one when we could've just caved and made this a long night. For us to come off to a really slow start, which is very uncharacteristic for us, gut out the first set in extra points, then come back and win 25-18, 25-18 just shows the grit and determination of this team, the maturity level and just how well we're doing right now. I'm really proud of them."

On winning the first set in 13 of 16 matches this season…
"[Taking the first set] is starting to become an identity [for this team], which is a good identity to have. Coming out in the first set really confident, I tell them to have a little swag so they know when any chips are down in that first set, we're still going for it. It has become an identity and I kind of like that identity."

Match Rewind
- The first set was an absolute battle, as the score was tied 17 times and there were five lead changes.
- NC State pulled ahead 13-11 after an attacking error by Wake Forest, forcing the Demon Deacons to use a timeout.
- The Deacons grabbed a 22-18 lead following an NC State attacking error, which resulted in a timeout by the Wolfpack.
- Out of the break, NCSU scored four consecutive points thanks to three kills from the right side by junior Teni Sopitan to even the tally at 22-22.
- The Deacs regained the lead, 24-22, with back-to-back points, but the Wolfpack won the next three rallies to fight off two set points and take a 25-24 advantage after a kill by Julia Brown.
- Wake Forest saved six set points before NC State converted to earn the 32-30 set win.
- The Pack started fast in the second set, winning the first three points prior to extending the lead to 10-6 to force a Demon Deacons timeout.
- A 4-1 run helped the squad pull away with a 17-11 advantage and NC State won the final four points of the frame to deserve the 25-18 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the overall match.
- NC State continued its momentum into the third set, as a kill by Kylie Pickrell gave the squad an 8-3 lead.
- A service ace by Pickrell and a kill from Brown pushed the margin to 11-6. Sopitan sparked a 5-0 run with a kill at 16-13 and the Pack took care of business down the stretch.

Top Performers
- Brown swatted a match-high 12 kills to go along with a .400 attacking percentage, as the Davidson, N.C., native committed just two errors on 25 swings.
- Sopitan charted 11 kills, while Kaitlyn Kearney put down eight kills complemented by a .417 hitting percentage.
- At setter, Pickrell led all players in the contest with 33 assists to go along with a match-high seven digs.
- Kearney logged six blocks to headline the defensive effort and libero Emily Harris collected six digs along with defensive specialist Grace Irvin.

Up Next
NC State returns to action Sunday afternoon when the Wolfpack hosts Duke. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. inside Reynolds Coliseum and it will be broadcast live on Regional Sports Networks (RSN).