Volleyball Travels to Virginia Tech for Sunday Afternoon Match

Sunday, September 30

Blacksburg, Va. (Cassell Coliseum)

1 P.M.

NC State

Virginia Tech

Photo by: Carin Gosnell

Volleyball Travels to Virginia Tech for Sunday Afternoon Match

9/29/2018 8:45:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

@packvball

Wolfpack set for first out of state ACC road trip

Date: Sunday, September 30
Opponent: Virginia Tech
Location: Blacksburg, Va.
Site: Cassell Coliseum
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: SideArm Stats

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team will travel to Blacksburg, Va., this weekend for an ACC road match against the Virginia Tech Hokies. First serve of the contest is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon inside Cassell Coliseum.

The contest will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App. Admission is FREE for fans.

NC State heads into the match with a 7-6 overall record and a 1-2 mark in ACC play, while Virginia Tech has had a strong season and is 11-4 overall and 2-1 in conference action.

Last Time Out
Despite recording a .467 team attacking percentage and never trailing en route to the first-set win at UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday, NC State's strong start fell short as the Tar Heels rallied for the 3-1 win.

Senior Teni Sopitan tallied 19 kills in the contest to tie for the match-high and lead the Wolfpack's offense.

Last Time Versus Virginia Tech
NC State won the last meeting between the teams on October 15, 2017, inside Reynolds Coliseum, 3-1. After dropping the first set, the Wolfpack roared back to win the next three sets to earn the victory.

The win helped the Pack remain unbeaten in ACC play and record is best start to conference action in program history at 8-0.

Last Time at Virginia Tech
The Wolfpack last traveled to Blacksburg during third-year head coach Linda Hampton-Keith's first season in 2016 when NC State earned a 3-0 sweep against the Hokies. In that contest, NC State set the rally-scoring era program record for highest team attacking percentage with a .468 clip.

NCSU charted 43 kills on 79 attempts with only six errors to earn the record attacking percentage. Sopitan led the Pack in that match with 16 kills on 28 attempts with only one error to record a career-best .536 attacking percentage.

Scouting Virginia Tech
In their second season under head coach Jill Wilson, the Virginia Tech Hokies have turned in a strong start to the year with an 11-4 overall record and a 2-1 mark in conference play. The Hokies fell to eighth-ranked Pittsburgh in their ACC opener before earning wins against Virginia and UNC-Chapel Hill in their most recent outing on Friday night.

VT leads the all-time series 21-13, but NC State has won the last three matchups. Hampton-Keith is 2-0 against the Hokies.

The Hokies are led by 2016 ACC All-Freshman Team selection Kaity Smith, as she has collected 185 kills, averaging 3.63 kills per set. Senior right side Jaila Tolbert, who played for the U.S. Collegiate National Team this summer, has put down 160 kills and 3.14 kills per set. Rhegan Mitchell is the team's setter and has dished out 8.83 assists per set, while libero Carol Raffety has collected 3.73 digs per set.

Virginia Tech owns a team attacking percentage of .249 and has limited opponents to a .171 clip.

Lucky Second Set
NC State is a perfect 6-0 on the year when winning the second set. The Wolfpack has outscored opponents, 300-280, in the frame.

Wolfpack Among the ACC Rankings
Four Wolfpack players rank among the top 10 of the ACC individual rankings, as Lauryn Terry is sixth in the league with a .379 attacking percentage. Senior setter Kylie Pickrell has handed out the second-most assists per set in the conference with 10.73, while Makenzie Kuchmaner has collected 4.83 digs per set to rank second in the ACC.

Sophomore Melissa Evans is 10^thin the conference with 3.46 kills per set.

That's Ironic
Heading into Sunday's match at Virginia Tech, NC State and its opponents have each won 26 sets. Additionally, the Wolfpack and its opponents have each scored 1,133 points.