
Photo by: Greg Mintel
Stellar Offensive Performance Leads Wolfpack to Fourth Straight Win
9/15/2017 2:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The NC State volleyball team put together a #STATEment performance Friday afternoon to earn its fourth consecutive victory with a 3-0 sweep against the Cincinnati Bearcats inside Cliff Keen Arena.Â
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The Wolfpack offense was firing on all cylinders throughout the match, as NC State compiled a .447 team attacking percentage – the third highest in the program's rally-scoring era and sixth best in program history.
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NC State's total is also the highest attacking percentage by a team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) this season and ranks among the top 25 of the NCAA.
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Three of NC State's primary attackers hit better than .500 in the contest, highlighted by senior Julia Brown with a career-best .600 clip, Kaitlyn Kearney with a .583 slash and Bree Bailey with a .562 clip.
Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts…
"Our team did a great job this morning coming out and firing on all cylinders," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "That was another confidence-building win against an NCAA team from last year."
"We still have a lot of areas we need to improve upon defensively and we will get that opportunity tonight when we play Michigan."
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Worth Noting
- The Wolfpack picked up its third consecutive sweep in the victory against the Bearcats, an NCAA Tournament team from last year that won 22 matches.
- NC State has now won its last 11 sets, outscoring opponents, 266-159, during that span.
- The Pack's .571 team attacking percentage in the first set is a season high.
- NCSU's seven service aces are also a season high, eclipsing six versus LIU Brooklyn.
- Cincinnati only led for two points in the match, at 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set.
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Match Rewind
- NC State came out on fire in the first set, as the squad won the first seven points of the match thanks to strong serving from redshirt sophomore Makenzie Kuchmaner, which included a pair of service aces.
- From there, the Wolfpack continued to excel as a kill from Brown extended the advantage to 18-11, forcing Cincinnati to use its second timeout.
- After the break, NC State closed out the set with seven unanswered points to win the set, 25-11, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- Kearney started the second set on a positive note for the Wolfpack, as she swatted the set's first kill and then proceeded to serve consecutive aces.
- A combination block from Bailey and Kearney stretched the NC State lead to 12-7 in the frame, resulting in a Bearcats timeout.
- Six consecutive points allowed the Wolfpack to gain control of the set at 19-11 and the squad ended the frame on a 5-1 run capped by a solo block from freshman Nailah Gordon.
- In the third set, NC State jumped out to an 8-4 lead following consecutive kills from Bailey.
- Kearney and Kylie Pickrell teamed up on a block to make it 16-11 in favor of the Wolfpack, enticing Cincinnati to take a timeout.
- A 5-1 run helped NC State extend the lead to 22-13 and a Cincinnati attacking error gave the Pack a 25-16 third-set win and 3-0 sweep in the match.
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Top Performers
- Brown swatted a match-high 14 kills in the contest to go along with her .600 attacking percentage, as she only made two errors on 20 swings.
- Bailey charted nine kills on 16 attempts and did not have a miscue to tally a .562 clip, while Kearney smacked eight kills with only one error to log a .583 slash.
- At setter, Pickrell handed out 33 assists in addition to four digs, three blocks and a kill.
- Defensively, sophomore Grace Irvin collected 10 digs and Kuchmaner logged eight.
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Up Next
NC State (4-5) returns to the court later this evening to take on No. 21 Michigan (7-2) at 7:30 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena.
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#STATEment
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The Wolfpack offense was firing on all cylinders throughout the match, as NC State compiled a .447 team attacking percentage – the third highest in the program's rally-scoring era and sixth best in program history.
Â
NC State's total is also the highest attacking percentage by a team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) this season and ranks among the top 25 of the NCAA.
Â
Three of NC State's primary attackers hit better than .500 in the contest, highlighted by senior Julia Brown with a career-best .600 clip, Kaitlyn Kearney with a .583 slash and Bree Bailey with a .562 clip.
Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts…
"Our team did a great job this morning coming out and firing on all cylinders," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "That was another confidence-building win against an NCAA team from last year."
"We still have a lot of areas we need to improve upon defensively and we will get that opportunity tonight when we play Michigan."
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Worth Noting
- The Wolfpack picked up its third consecutive sweep in the victory against the Bearcats, an NCAA Tournament team from last year that won 22 matches.
- NC State has now won its last 11 sets, outscoring opponents, 266-159, during that span.
- The Pack's .571 team attacking percentage in the first set is a season high.
- NCSU's seven service aces are also a season high, eclipsing six versus LIU Brooklyn.
- Cincinnati only led for two points in the match, at 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set.
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Match Rewind
- NC State came out on fire in the first set, as the squad won the first seven points of the match thanks to strong serving from redshirt sophomore Makenzie Kuchmaner, which included a pair of service aces.
- From there, the Wolfpack continued to excel as a kill from Brown extended the advantage to 18-11, forcing Cincinnati to use its second timeout.
- After the break, NC State closed out the set with seven unanswered points to win the set, 25-11, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- Kearney started the second set on a positive note for the Wolfpack, as she swatted the set's first kill and then proceeded to serve consecutive aces.
- A combination block from Bailey and Kearney stretched the NC State lead to 12-7 in the frame, resulting in a Bearcats timeout.
- Six consecutive points allowed the Wolfpack to gain control of the set at 19-11 and the squad ended the frame on a 5-1 run capped by a solo block from freshman Nailah Gordon.
- In the third set, NC State jumped out to an 8-4 lead following consecutive kills from Bailey.
- Kearney and Kylie Pickrell teamed up on a block to make it 16-11 in favor of the Wolfpack, enticing Cincinnati to take a timeout.
- A 5-1 run helped NC State extend the lead to 22-13 and a Cincinnati attacking error gave the Pack a 25-16 third-set win and 3-0 sweep in the match.
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Top Performers
- Brown swatted a match-high 14 kills in the contest to go along with her .600 attacking percentage, as she only made two errors on 20 swings.
- Bailey charted nine kills on 16 attempts and did not have a miscue to tally a .562 clip, while Kearney smacked eight kills with only one error to log a .583 slash.
- At setter, Pickrell handed out 33 assists in addition to four digs, three blocks and a kill.
- Defensively, sophomore Grace Irvin collected 10 digs and Kuchmaner logged eight.
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Up Next
NC State (4-5) returns to the court later this evening to take on No. 21 Michigan (7-2) at 7:30 p.m. inside Cliff Keen Arena.
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#STATEment
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Team Stats
ST
CIN
Kills
47
22
Errors
9
15
Attempts
85
83
Hitting %
.447
.084
Points
61.0
30.0
Assists
40
22
Aces
7
3
Blocks
7.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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