NC State Volleyball Clashes with Louisville in Battle for First Place Friday Night

Friday, November 17

Louisville, Ky. (Cardinal Arena)

7:30 P.M.

NC State

(RV) Louisville

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Photo by: Greg Mintel

NC State Volleyball Clashes with Louisville in Battle for First Place Friday Night

11/16/2017 3:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

@PackVball

Wolfpack set for season’s lone matchup with Cardinals

Match 28	NC State (19-8, 14-2 ACC) vs Louisville (20-6, 14-2 ACC)
Date	Friday, Nov. 17
Time	7:30 p.m.
Location	Louisville, Ky.
Venue	Cardinal Arena
TV	ACC Network Extra
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Social Media	@Pack Vball

Head Coach Linda Hampton-Keith on Wolfpacker Podcast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With both teams tied for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) volleyball standings with identical 14-2 records, something has to give Friday night when NC State takes the court against Louisville. The match will be the first and only meeting between the programs this season.

First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. inside Cardinal Arena and the matchup will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App.

NC State enters the matchup with a 19-8 overall record and a 14-2 mark in conference action, while Louisville owns a 20-6 ledger and is 14-2 in ACC play.

Last Time Out
In its last outing, NC State defeated Georgia Tech in straight sets on Senior Night with a 3-0 victory. Louisville also swept its opponent by defeating Virginia Tech at home, 3-0.

Last Time Versus Louisville
The Wolfpack and Cardinals last met during the 2016 season when NC State earned a 3-0 victory inside the KFC Yum! Center. This year's meeting will be held inside Cardinal Arena, as the venue was undergoing renovations last season.

Julia Brown led the Pack in that contest with a match-high 16 kills complemented by a .375 attacking percentage.

Scouting Louisville
Louisville has had an outstanding season under the leadership of first-year head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. The Cardinals have won their last seven matches heading into Friday's battle, most recently with 3-0 victories against Virginia and Virginia Tech.

NC State trails Louisville in the all-time series, 3-1, as last year's victory was the first for the Wolfpack.

Melanie McHenry leads the Cards offensively with 314 kills on the season, an average of 3.45 kills per set. Tess Clark is second on the squad with 255 kills at 2.83 kps. Wilma Rivera coordinates the offense from her setter position and is third in the ACC with 10.71 assists per set. Defensively, libero Molly Sauer has collected 4.03 digs per set to rank sixth in the conference.

Louisville owns a team attacking percentage of .241 and has limited opponents to a .177 clip, second best in the conference.

Breaking the Program Record for ACC Wins
With last Saturday's win against Georgia Tech, NC State broke the program record for ACC wins with its 14^th victory of the season. The Wolfpack eclipsed the previous mark held by the 2016 squad with 13.

Head Coach Linda Hampton-Keith and her staff now own the top-two winningest conference seasons in program history.

Undefeated ACC Home Season
The Wolfpack also closed out its ACC home slate with a perfect 10-0 record after defeating the Yellow Jackets last weekend. It marks the first undefeated ACC home season with at least five matches in program history.

Three Peat for the Pack, Brown Named ACC Player of the Week
For the third consecutive week, NC State volleyball boasts the ACC Player of the Week as Julia Brown secures this week's honor. She turned in a fantastic weekend in her final two ACC home matches of her career, tallying 30 kills on the weekend for an average of 4.29 kills per set.

Last week, Kaitlyn Kearney claimed the honor and Kylie Pickrell collected the award the previous week.

Winningest ACC Class in Program History
This year's senior class of Bree Bailey, Brown, Emily Harris, Kearney and Perry Ramsey is now the winningest ACC class in program history. The group now owns 37 career conference wins to top the previous mark of 36.

Leading the Way in the ACC
Heading into the final two weeks of the ACC regular season, NC State leads the conference in total kills (1,454), kills per set (14.40), total assists (1,372) and assists per set (13.58).

Additionally, the Pack is second in the league in hitting percentage with a .265 clip.

Individually, Pickrell leads the ACC in assists per set with 10.79 and Kearney is fourth in the conference in attacking percentage at .361.

Five in a Row
NC State has great momentum heading into Friday night's clash with Louisville, as the Wolfpack has won its last five matches dating back to the hard-fought win at Florida State. NCSU has only dropped one set in its last four outings.