Volleyball Takes Down Duke, Wins Fifth-Straight

Friday, February 26

Raleigh, N.C.

7 PM

NC State

5-4,4-4ACC

Duke

8-3,6-2ACC

Duke

NC State

2/26/2021 11:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

RALEIGH – For the fifth time in the last six matches, NC State volleyball and Duke played to five sets in a thrilling win for the Wolfpack, Friday night in Reynolds Coliseum. The win marked NC State's (5-4, 4-4 ACC) fifth-straight, dating back to the fall season where the Pack won four-straight against Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The Pack was led by senior Melissa Evans who notched a career-high 24 kills with a .258 hitting percentage, in addition to 14 digs and three blocks. Kristen McDaniel had a stellar night, nearing a personal-best with 45 assists and 16 digs. Evans was joined in double-digit kills by Jade Parchment who notched 12 kills and 12 digs.

"Everyone over break definitely put in a lot of work," said McDaniel. "When we came back we kept learning, working hard and trusting the process. I think that really showed tonight and that we did a good job as a team in this game."

HOW IT HAPPENED
NC State came out hot in the first set, hitting .394 as a team. Duke opened the match with a 3-0 lead before NC State stormed back on five-consecutive kills for a 8-7 lead. The teams traded points back and forth, before NC State finally took the lead in set one for good on a kill from Evans.

After Duke took the second set, the Blue Devils also held the late lead in the third set, 16-10. NC State outscored Duke, 15-7 down the stretch including three-straight kills from Evans to take the 2-1 match lead. The fourth set was a similar story, however, Duke evened the score 2-2 through a closely contested battle.

The fifth set opened with each team trading points back-and-forth, 3-3, but a 3-0 run prompted by an NC State block and service ace, propelled the Wolfpack ahead 6-3 to a lead they would not relinquish. NC State ended the set with six-straight points to clinch its first win of the spring.

OF NOTE

The match featured 20 tie scores and nine lead changes.
Evans' 24 kills tie for the third-best single match performance in program history (in the rally scoring era).
NC State saw the return of Taylor Rowland to the court for her first match in over a year. Rowland registered six kills and a block.
Kaylee Frazier led the Pack's stellar defensive effort, with a team-high 17 digs. NC State has held its opponents to under a .200 hitting percentage in eight of the team's nine matches in 2020-21.
The team also had 11 service aces which ties for the best in by any ACC team in 2020-21

UP NEXT
NC State is set to officially resume conference play next weekend, March 5-6, with a pair of ACC matches against Notre Dame and Miami in South Bend, Ind.