NC State Volleyball Breaks Program Records in 3-0 Sweep Against Georgia Tech

Saturday, November 11

Raleigh, N.C.

5 P.M.

NC State

19-8, 14-2ACC

Georgia Tech

12-15, 7-9ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Georgia Tech	19	21	20	0
NC State	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Ben McKeown

NC State Volleyball Breaks Program Records in 3-0 Sweep Against Georgia Tech

11/11/2017 9:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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Wolfpack breaks program record for ACC wins with 14, completes perfect 10-0 home ACC season

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team put the finishing touches on a perfect Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) home season and set the program record for conference wins with a 3-0 sweep against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Senior Night Saturday evening inside Reynolds Coliseum.

NC State's five seniors: Bree Bailey, Julia Brown, Emily Harris, Kaitlyn Kearney and Perry Ramsey were recognized in a ceremony following the match.

For the second consecutive season, the Wolfpack sets the program record for ACC wins as the squad owns 14 wins in league play to best the previous mark of 13 set last season. Second-year Head Coach Linda Hampton-Keith and her staff now own the top-two winningest conference seasons in program history.

NC State also completes a perfect home ACC season, as the Pack's 10 home conference wins is the most in program history without a loss and the first undefeated home season since 1988 when the team played a six-game conference schedule with three home matches.

The Wolfpack moves to 19-8 overall and 14-2 in ACC play to take over sole possession of first place, while Georgia Tech falls to 12-15 and 7-9 in conference action.

Worth Noting
- NC State also sets the program record for ACC sweeps in a single season, as the Wolfpack has collected seven 3-0 victories in league play to surpass last year's mark of six.
- The Wolfpack won the first set for the 20^th time this season, as NC State is 17-3 on the year when winning the opening frame.
- NCSU won the first set in nine of its 10 home matches in ACC play.
- The senior class also breaks the program record for most ACC wins by a class, as the group is now responsible for 37 conference victories.

BREAKING NEWS ????

With the win, NC State earns its 14th ACC win which BREAKS the program record for @ACCVolleyball wins in a single season#STATEMENT ???? pic.twitter.com/Wikf9npeZD
— WWWWolfpack ?? (@PackVball) November 11, 2017

Match Rewind
- Brown tallied three consecutive kills to give NC State an 11-9 lead in the first set and the Wolfpack never trailed again in the frame.
- Back-to-back kills from Bailey gave the Pack a 15-11 advantage at the media timeout.
- After Georgia Tech trimmed the NC State lead to 18-16, Teni Sopitan tallied a kill to spark a 4-0 run and the Wolfpack went on to win the set, 25-19, capped by a kill from the back row by Melissa Evans.
- It was the first time the freshman has seen action since suffering an injury at Georgia Tech on Sept. 29.
- The second set was tightly contested and featured nine ties and three lead changes.
- With the score knotted at 15-15, Bailey charted a kill from the outside and teamed up with Lauryn Terry for the block assists on the following point.
- A kill by the Yellow Jackets narrowed the Wolfpack lead to 19-18, but NC State responded with four unanswered points to take a 23-18 advantage.
- Brown closed out the set with consecutive kills to give NCSU a 25-21 second-set victory and 2-0 lead in the match.
- Georgia Tech started fast in the third set and took a 14-11 lead midway through the frame.
- A 4-1 run by the Wolfpack evened the set at 17-17 to force a Tech timeout.
- The Yellow Jackets pulled ahead, 18-17, but NC State won the next five rallies to grab a 22-18 lead en route to the 25-20 third-set win and 3-0 victory in the match.

Top Performers
- Brown tallied a match-high 17 kills to along with six digs and a block.
- Kearney put down 10 kills on 17 attempts to compile a .471 attacking percentage in addition to accounting for all three of NC State's service aces in the contest.
- Bailey also helped out offensively with 10 kills and Sopitan charted eight kills.
- At setter, Kylie Pickrell led all players with 41 assists complemented by four kills, four digs and three blocks.
- Defensively, Harris tied for the match high with 11 digs and Mackenzie Kuchmaner contributed 10 digs.

Up Next
NC State returns to action Friday, Nov. 17, when the Wolfpack travels to Louisville for a pivotal ACC matchup. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside Cardinal Arena.

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Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts on the match…
"Obviously, we were excited about a lot of things. We were really trying to stay focused, and make sure we were focused on the match ahead of us. Georgia Tech's a really good team. We have a lot of respect for them, so we were really, really challenging ourselves to stay in the moment and take care of business.

"We knew at the end, things would get a little emotional with Senior Night, and if we won, all the things that came with it, breaking a record and going undefeated at home. There were a lot of unsaid things surrounding the match, and I think our team once again continued to show maturity of just staying in the moment and taking care of the business at hand. That was a pretty phenomenal performance for our team.

"On paper, there were moments where it was really sloppy, but we still hung through and did a good job."

On grit and determination that went into tonight's win…
"I just kept pushing, and pushing and pushing, because I did not want to go long with that team. They're a dangerous team. We have a lot of respect for them. Their record may not show it, but they challenge us in a lot of ways. For me, it was just about putting our foot on the gas pedal and leaving it there. Making sure we were pressing and pressing all the way until the end, because I knew it wasn't going to be over until it was over. That was that sense of urgency that we had, that we needed to press and make sure of it.

"22 tied scores, eight lead changes, so it was a tough match. Even though it is a sweep on paper, it was a tough match. We really had to step up in moments and make some big plays, which we did, which was awesome."

On going 10-0 at home and the impact of home court advantage at Reynolds…
"It's huge. Our attendance numbers are going up. It was a well-attended match tonight, and it's huge. It's such a great venue. It's perfect for volleyball. It's the right size, it's the right atmosphere. That's a huge, huge bonus. To play at home and to be supported. It's just really fun.

"To be able to now go 10-0 at home, that's a big deal. That's a really big deal, so I'm really proud of the team for that. It's something that's done now, and you can't take that away from us. We can hang our hat on that a little bit. It's a great honor. One more thing that this team has accomplished, and hopefully we're not done accomplishing things. That's great for them."

On how it feels to have the top two ACC win totals in program history…
"Awesome. All credit to the team. When you step back and look at the big picture, it's really about the team, and really about what they've been able to do. Come together with a coaching change, adapt to a new culture. Adapt to just a different style of volleyball, and be able to rise to the occasion and challenge themselves. So again, big picture, when you step back, this is about the team really buying in and really just stepping up and getting better at volleyball over the course of two years. This is what happens when you do that. It's awesome. I'm really excited for them."

On the team's mentality going into the next match at Louisville
"The ACC's an interesting conference. It's huge. There's what, 15 teams? It's not a balanced schedule, so you play some teams twice, you play other teams once. Sometimes it's home, sometimes it's away. You really just have no control over it. I think the message continues to be, as it has been, there's a lot of volleyball around us that has to continue to get played while we're playing as well. We really can't get caught up into the meaning of one specific match, because truth be told, there's still four more matches for everybody, not just us. So many things can still happen, shift and change that we just have to go and take care of our business. The nice thing is that we have to draw from is when we went into the Pitt match, we had just come off our first loss of the conference. They were still undefeated at the time, and we were able to, after a loss, somehow bounce back, go into and undefeated Pitt team at home, which is what we're doing with Louisville. Assuming they took care of business today, we're going to walk into a team that is also undefeated at home. We did that with Pitt, and we were able to play some really good volleyball and step up to that challenge. I think it's the same message as before, 'Hey, we've been here, we've done that, so let's not make it bigger than what it is.' It is what it is. We're going to go in, we're going to play our best volleyball that day. That's going to be the goal, and we'll see what we get. Whatever happens, that doesn't necessarily dictate anything either. Even though we're both sitting at the top, so many other things can change. They still have to go play on the road. Let's just play this match as it is, which is our next match. That's the message."

Quoting the Players

Kaitlyn Kearney, Sr., MB
"It was awesome to come out with a win and we played so well as a team; everyone pulled their weight. They're [Georgia Tech] is a good team; they took us to four at their place so it was really great to dominate towards the end there."

"A lot of teams will get frazzled in a tight match like that, when it's point-for-point. Our team stays so calm and really talks to each other and communicates and really pulls through at the end. That's what really is so great about this team; we can be losing, we can be staying the same but we play the same way every time."

"Kylie did a great job of mixing up the sets so I always got a free swing because there was one blocker up at one time, so that was awesome. I'm just happy to have played so well in my last match here with the best team ever."

Emily Harris, Sr., L
"It means so much to win our last home match; it didn't really hit me until that last whistle blew and all the emotions came at once. It means so much and I'm glad we got to leave on a really good note, especially with a sweep against a really good team. It means the world to all of us."

"Before the match Coach Linda was saying we need to go out and be relentless like we do every day in practice. We've been there with other teams, just neck-and-neck and we know to focus on all the details; that's what's going to get us through. We're used to the fight, we're used to pushing through every single point, focusing on the little details and getting through it. It was really nice and I know we all really want to do it for each other; we're motivated for each other and pushed through as a team, so that was awesome to see."

"I credit so much of that to our block up there; we have a good relationship talking between defense and the front row, making sure we get in a place where I can see the hitter, so I give it all to them. I knew Georgia Tech was a hard-hitting team coming cross-court with their outsides so I just wanted to man up and go for everything that I could. It was awesome."