Pack Heads to Bobcat Invitational

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Wolfpack volleyball team is set to participate in the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Ohio University starting on Friday Sept. 8. The Pack will begin play on Friday against William & Mary, before facing the host, Ohio, that evening and UTEP Saturday morning. All three matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

GAME NOTES | WATCH 1 | LIVE STATS 1 | WATCH 2 | LIVE STATS 2 | WATCH 3 | LIVE STATS 3

The Match Up

The Pack will face William & Mary, Ohio, and UTEP for the first time under head coach Luka Slabe
NC State won the last meeting in 2014 with William & Mary in a sweep, but hold a split record overall (1-1)
The last time the Wolfpack faced the Bobcats, Maryland was still in the ACC and Texas won its third National Championship
The Pack swept Ohio back in 2012, in the lone meeting between the two teams
The meeting with the Miners will be the first in program history

Diggin' It

As a team, the Wolfpack ranks first in the ACC for digs per set with 14.92
The Pack ranked first in the ACC in 2022 and in the top five the previous three seasons
Senior libero Skye Stokes leads the team with 3.38 per set and is 10th in the conference for the stat
If the season ended today, she would rank third in program history for digs per set in her career at State

Big Red

Junior opposite Amanda Rice recorded a career high 18 kills in the five set win over Rutgers
She had the final kill in set four that sent the match to a final set and she recorded several blocks in the fifth to help the Pack maintain momentum

Don't Count Them Out

The Wolfpack rallied back from a 2-0 deficit in the second meeting with Utah Valley
After struggling to gain a lead in the first two sets, they went into set three with a fire under them
Juniors Amanda Rice and Jada Allen were impact players in the final three sets
The last time the Pack rallied back from a 2-0 deficit and won was in 2015 when they defeated Notre Dame 23-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 16-14
The Pack is 11-15 in games it forces a fifth set after trailing 2-0

How the Table Has Turned

A year ago, sophomore libero/defensive specialist Sydney Daniels was playing against the Pack at Elon
Now, she started in her first game for the Pack as libero in the win over Utah Valley on Aug. 26
She felt she has something to prove her and she's starting to make her presence known

Nearing 50

Head coach Luka Slabe has started the countdown to 50 career wins as a head coach
Entering the 2023 season, he sits at a 45-35 record overall, with 27 wins over ACC opponents
He would be only the sixth coach in program history to hit the 50 win mark

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jada Allen

Sydney Daniels

Amanda Rice

Skye Stokes

North Carolina State University Athletics