Volleyball Opens ACC Play With Thrilling Win

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – The NC State Volleyball team opened conference play with a thrilling 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18, 15-8) win over Virginia. The Pack is 5-0 against the Cavaliers under head coach Luka Slabe who took reign of the program in 2020.

Freshman Ava Brizard recorded her second career double-double after tallying 17 kills and 10 digs.

Graduate Vanja Bukilic and sophomore Jada Allen each tallied six blocks for the Pack.

Sophomore setter Naomi Cabello led the Wolfpack setters with 27 assists on the evening.

Set One (24-26)
The Cavaliers served first, but the Pack took point one. Virginia took the second point, but from there the Pack took a lead and didn't look back for quite some time. P. Hernandez was behind the service line for seven straight Pack points before Virginia scored its second point of the set. UVA managed to come back and win the set, despite trailing throughout.

Set Two (25-17)
The Pack trailed to start the set, but later took a lead that the Cavaliers were unable to stop. Coach Slabe won his third challenge of the evening, making it the most he has won in a single match this season. NC State tallied 10 blocks in the set, with Allen and Martyna Leoniak each tallying three. The Wolfpack took seven straight points to lead 23-14 before UVA managed to stop the scoring streak.

Set Three (25-23)
NC State took a 4-1 lead to start. UVA made several attempts in the beginning of the set to minimize the Pack's lead but were unsuccessful until tying it 19-19 – from there it was a back and forth battle between the two teams. A kill by Leoniak ended the set, giving NC State a 2-1 advantage.

Set Four(18-25)
The Wolfpack struggled to gain momentum and the Cavaliers took a 5-1. UVA capitalized on the Pack's errors and maintained the lead. NC State minimized the Cavaliers lead to three, but were unable to stop them.

Set Five (15-8)
Virginia took a 2-1 lead over the Pack, but NC State quickly responded. After taking an 8-5 lead at the side switch, the Pack continued to dominate. Brizard recorded three kills and Shaak tallied three blocks to help the Pack.

Up Next
The Pack will head to Pittsburgh to take on No. 10 Pitt on Sunday. First serve is slated for 1pm EDT and will be broadcast on ACCNX.

#GoPack | @Packvball

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Team Stats

Ava Brizard

Amanda Rice

Vanja Bukilic

Martyna Leoniak

Players Mentioned

Jada Allen

Ava Brizard

Vanja Bukilic

Naomi Cabello

Martyna Leoniak