Wolfpack Volleyball Sweeps Milwaukee to Conclude Play in Michigan Challenge

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The NC State volleyball team earned its fifth win in its last six matches with a 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-16) sweep against Milwaukee Saturday evening inside Cliff Keen Arena to conclude play in the Michigan Challenge.

The Wolfpack moves to 5-6 on the year, while Milwaukee, one of the top programs in the Horizon League, falls to 7-7.

Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts…
"What I really like about today's performance is that while it wasn't always pretty, our team found a way to step up and make plays when it got close," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "We could have easily folded and gone to extra sets but we held strong and pushed ourselves to a 3-0 sweep against a good team that challenged us in a lot of ways."

Worth Noting
- NC State has now won five of its last six matches, highlighted by four 3-0 sweeps during that span.
- Saturday's meeting was the first between the programs, as NC State grabs a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
- The Wolfpack never trailed in the first and third sets, nor was the score tied in the third frame.

Match Rewind
- NC State opened the first set strong, as the Wolfpack jumped out to a 7-4 lead following consecutive attacking errors by Milwaukee.
- Four unanswered points by the Pack extended the advantage to 13-9 to force the Panthers to use their second timeout of the set.
- Sophomore Lauryn Terry gave NC State a 20-15 lead with a kill from the middle and freshman Melissa Evans capped the set with a kill from the right side to give the Wolfpack a 25-19 first-set win and 1-0 lead in the match.
- The Wolfpack also started well in the second set, as Evans swatted a kill from the right side to give NC State a 9-6 advantage which led to a Milwaukee timeout.
- The Panthers battled to take a 20-17 lead following a 6-1 run, but the Pack countered by winning four of the next five rallies to even the set at 21.
- Three unanswered points for NC State gave the squad set point at 24-22, but the Panthers fought off both attempts to even the tally at 24-24.
- After Milwaukee knotted the score at 25, a kill from Bree Bailey followed before a block assist from Evans and Teni Sopitan to end the set, 27-25.
- NC State was on fire to start the third set, as the Wolfpack won the first five points to race out to a 5-0 advantage.
- Milwaukee rallied to trim the deficit to 12-10, but a 5-1 run for NCSU followed to gain control of the frame at 17-11.
- The Wolfpack closed out the set on a 6-1 run, highlighted by three consecutive kills from freshman Nailah Gordon to win the frame, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.

Top Performers
- Bailey paced both teams offensively with a match-high 10 kills in the contest, while Evans notched eight kills.
- Kaitlyn Kearney swatted six kills without an error and Julia Brown pitched in with seven kills.
- Kylie Pickrell handed out 25 assists complemented by three kills, two digs, a service ace and a block.
- Defensively, libero Grace Irvin collected nine digs and Kearney tallied five blocks.

Up Next
NC State returns to action Friday evening when it opens Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play against UNC-Chapel Hill. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside Reynolds Coliseum.

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Wolfpack Volleyball Sweeps Milwaukee to Conclude Play in Michigan Challenge

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Team Stats

Bree Bailey

Melissa Evans

Julia Brown

Kaitlyn Kearney

Players Mentioned

Bree Bailey

Julia Brown

Melissa Evans

Nailah Gordon

Grace Irvin

Kaitlyn Kearney

Kylie Pickrell

Teni Sopitan

Lauryn Terry

Players Mentioned

Bree Bailey

Julia Brown

Melissa Evans

Nailah Gordon

Grace Irvin

Kaitlyn Kearney

Kylie Pickrell

Teni Sopitan

Lauryn Terry