Pack Wins Four Set Thriller Over Drake

Saturday, August 31

Omaha, NE

3:30pm

NC State

1-1,0-0ACC

Drake

0-2,0-0MVC

Drake

NC State

8/31/2024 5:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

OMAHA, NE – The NC State volleyball team claimed its first win of the 2024 campaign after a thrilling 3-1 win over Drake at D.J. Skol Arena during the Bluejay Invitational hosted by Creighton.

Breaking Down the Match

The Wolfpack came out of the gates running, as it opened the match with a 3-0 run highlighted by a monster block by senior Martyna Leoniak. Drake responded with a 6-0 run, forcing head coach Luka Slabe to use his first timeout of the set.
Middle blocker Jada Allen and opposite Madison Williams recorded two blocks midway through the first set that allowed the Pack to slow the Bulldogs. The two teams exchanged points, until NC State took a 23-20 lead. The Pack would take set one, 25-21, after a kill by junior Ava Brizard and a bad set by Drake.
At the conclusion of set one, Williams led the Pack with four kills and a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage.
Drake started the second set with a five-point lead (8-3), forcing Slabe to use an early timeout. Senior libero Skye Stokes recorded back-to-back service aces to help the Pack minimize the lead of the Bulldogs to two (13-11). After the Wolfpack tied the match 16-all, the Bulldogs went on a 3-0 scoring run forcing NC State to use its final timeout of the set.
The two teams battled back-and-forth at the end of the second set, but it was the Wolfpack that came out on top 28-26. The last time the Pack played a set that ended with the NC State scoring 28 points was at Syracuse on Nov. 26, 2022.
The Wolfpack continued to build on the momentum from the first two sets and took a 4-1 lead to open the third. Drake would later take a five-point lead (19-14), forcing NC State to use a timeout in hopes of regrouping. Drake would take the set 25-21 despite several attempts by the Pack to slow the Bulldogs. Rice tallied seven kills in the third set to lead NC State offensively.
Set four started off with Drake taking the lead, 11-6. Slabe used a challenge after a long and ugly rally but was unsuccessful. Junior middle blocker Sophie Groom responded with a massive kill for the Pack and would help minimize the Bulldogs lead to three.
NC State continued to battle, going on a 4-0 scoring run to take the lead 21-19 and forcing a Bulldog timeout. Drake scored three more points before an assist by senior setter Naomi Cabello allowed Allen to tally her eighth kill of the afternoon and claim the match for the Wolfpack.
NC State had four student-athletes record 10 or more digs in the match, marking the first time since Oct. 27, 2023, when the Pack did so at Duke.

Stat Leaders
Kills: Amanda Rice (16)
Digs: Skye Stokes (17)
Assists: Naomi Cabello (34)
Blocks: Jada Allen (7)
Aces: Skye Stokes (2)

Up next
NC State will return to D.J. Skol Arena for its final game of the Bluejay Invitational against Mizzou, who received votes in the first AVCA Coaches poll of the season, on Sunday, Sept. 1. First serve is set for 1pm ET.