Wolfpack Volleyball Travels to High Point Saturday, Hosts LIU Brooklyn Sunday

Opponents: UNCW, High Point
Date: Saturday, September 9
Location: High Point, N.C.
Site: Millis Center
Times: 1 p.m. & 6 p.m.
Live Video: Big South Network
Live Stats: SideArm Stats

Opponent: LIU Brooklyn
Date: Sunday, September 10
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
Site: Reynolds Coliseum
Times: 2 p.m.
Live Stats: SideArm Stats

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team is back in action this weekend when the Wolfpack travels to High Point Saturday for matchups with UNCW and the host Panthers. Sunday the Pack will return to Reynolds Coliseum to host LIU Brooklyn.

The Wolfpack and Seahawks will square off at 1 p.m. and NC State will face High Point at 6 p.m. with both matches taking place inside the Millis Center on the High Point University campus. First serve of Sunday's matchup with LIU Brooklyn is slated for a 2 p.m. start.

High Point enters the weekend with a 4-3 overall record, while UNCW is 3-4. NC State has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation with three matches versus top-10 teams and is seeking its first victory. LIU Brooklyn heads into the weekend at 4-3 on the year.

Last Time Out
In its last outing, NC State dropped a heartbreaker in five sets to the Auburn Tigers at the Puerto Rico Clasico. The Wolfpack led 2-1 in the contest, but the Tigers put together a furious comeback to earn the 3-2 win.

What a Start for Evans
NC State's Melissa Evans has enjoyed a stellar start to her collegiate career. The Lone Tree, Colo., native has recorded double-digit kills in all five matches this year with impressive performances in the Wolfpack's contests versus top-10 opponents.

She currently leads NC State offensively with 81 kills, an average of 3.68 kills per set.

Taking Care of the Ball
Kaitlyn Kearney has done a great job taking care of the ball and limiting mistakes in her senior season with the Pack, as she ranks sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with a .329 attacking percentage with only nine errors.

Evans is also among the top 10 in the conference in that statistic with a .321 clip to occupy seventh.

Wolfpack In the ACC Rankings
NC State ranks among the top five of the ACC in four categories as a team. The Wolfpack's 13.45 kills per set is second, 12.82 assists per set is also second, while NCSU's .247 attacking percentage is good for third. Defensively, the Pack's 15.00 digs per set is third in the league.

Approaching 1,000
Senior Julia Brown has turned in a stellar career in a Wolfpack uniform and as such, she is rapidly approaching 1,000 career kills. She would become the first player to accomplish the feat during the program's rally-scoring era.

Brown owns 963 kills heading into the weekend and needs just 38 more to eclipse the mark.

Scouting UNCW
NC State and UNCW will be meeting for the second consecutive season, as the Seahawks slipped past the Wolfpack with a 3-1 victory last year inside Reynolds Coliseum. UNCW has lost three of its last four matches and was swept in its last outing at Campbell on Tuesday night.

The Wolfpack and Seahawks have met eight times in the history of the programs with NCSU owning a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series.

Junior outside hitter Maddy Kline leads the team offensively with 61 kills, an average of 2.54 kills per set. Brynn Montgomery and Michaela White have split time at the setter position with the former handing out 5.25 assists per set and the latter 5.19 assists per set. Defensively, Katie McCullough headlines the group with 4.38 digs per set.

Kline was a Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Honorable Mention and UNCW was picked to finish seventh in the league.

Scouting High Point
The High Point Panthers have had a strong start to the 2017 season, after winning the Big South Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament last year. HPU has won three of its last four matches, with the lone loss during that span against VCU in five sets.

Saturday's meeting will be sixth between the programs as NCAA Division I opponents. The Panthers earned a 3-1 win against the Wolfpack inside Reynolds Coliseum last year.

High Point was picked to win the Big South in the conference's preseason poll. Senior outside hitter Haley Barnes and junior middle blocker Molly Livingston were tabbed to the league's preseason all-conference team.

Barnes paces the squad offensively with 78 kills, an average of 2.79 kills per set. Livingston is closely behind with 2.64 kps or 74 kills. At the setter position, Jenna Smith has handed out 7.43 assists per set and libero Abby Bottomley has collected 4.89 digs per set.

Scouting LIU Brooklyn
LIU Brooklyn heads to North Carolina with a 4-3 overall record in 2017. The Blackbirds will play a pair of matches at UNC-Chapel Hill before heading to Raleigh Sunday afternoon. The squad fell to Indiana in its most recent outing last Sunday, 3-1.

NC State and LIU Brooklyn have only met once in the history of the programs, as the Wolfpack earned a 3-2 victory at the Coastal Carolina Classic in 2004.

The Blackbirds were an NCAA Tournament team last year after winning the Northeast Conference Tournament. LIU Brooklyn was picked to repeat as champions in 2017.

Viktoria Fink leads the team offensively with 70 kills, an average of 3.18 kills per set. LIU Brooklyn also runs a 6-2 offense, as Piper Matsumoto and Amanda Hubbard have split at the position handing out 6.24 and 5.82 assists per set, respectively. Libero Natalia Rivera has collected 5.61 digs per set, which ranks among the top 20 of the NCAA.

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Wolfpack Volleyball Travels to High Point Saturday, Hosts LIU Brooklyn Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Julia Brown

Melissa Evans

Kaitlyn Kearney