The NC State volleyball team extended its winning streak to 12 with a 3-0 sweep of Syracuse (7-6 overall, 0-1 ACC) Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum. With the victory, the Wolfpack (12-1 overall, 1-0 ACC) finishes the month of September with a perfect 10-0 record.
On a team filled with veterans who have faced ACC competition many times before, two freshmen shone for the Pack on Friday: outside hitter Perry Ramsey and middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney. In the first conference game of their careers, the duo combined for 26 kills with a .432 kill percentage.
“They were very poised for freshmen,” said State head coach Bryan Bunn. “They would make a mistake and bounce right back. But they’ve played in every match for us this year, so they’re not really freshmen anymore.”
Ramsey got off to a quick start for the Pack, claiming three of the team’s first four kills during an 8-2 run to start the match. Though she said she was nervous heading into the match, Ramsey said the early kills gave her much-needed confidence.
“It definitely took some of the stress off,” Ramsey said. “I came out a little shaky, but I knew I had to keep swinging, and they went down.”
State ended the first set with authority, finishing on an 11-1 run to take a 25-11 victory in the first. The stretch featured two service aces from sophomore defensive specialist Maddie Brown.
After seeing limited court time in pre-conference play, Brown played significant minutes in all three sets Friday night, recording seven digs and a career-high three service aces.
“She’s playing more like she did last year,” Bunn said. “Last year, she was our starting defensive specialist for the opposite. She struggled a little bit this year, but [she has] picked it up and got her serve back. She’s passing the ball well and playing good defense.”
Kearney led the team with five kills after one set, while recording no errors. The freshman ended the match with a .450 kill percentage, a game-high for players with at least three attempts.
Syracuse responded at the start of the second, as the team marched out to a 5-2 lead. Though the Pack battled back to take a two-point lead midway through the set, the Orange continued to keep pace with the State squad.
The Pack finished strong again, closing out the second set on a 7-2 run to take a two-set lead heading into the intermission.
Ramsey was absolutely dominant in the second, recording seven of her 14 kills in just eight attempts.
“The defense was awesome and [sophomore setter] Maggie [Speaks] did a great job of getting me the ball,” Ramsey said. “Coach Bunn is always talking about being loud and aggressive, so I’ve been working on calling it loud and letting Maggie know when I’m ready to hit.”
The beginning of the third set was closely contested, including four tie scores. However, the Pack broke off a 6-1 run to take a 16-11 lead midway through the third, eventually taking the set, 25-21.
During the 6-1 run, the Pack recorded two more of the team’s eight service aces, which tied for third-most this season. Bunn said that the strong service game helped shut down the Orange attack.
“We took them out of their offense,” Bunn said. “We served so tough that they couldn’t run an offense. We’ll take eight errors if we get eight aces.”
Syracuse was unable to get anything Friday night, hitting under .100 in two sets and .105 for the match as a whole.
“Everyone was really communicating,” Brown said. “We knew from film that they were going to hit a lot of back-row attacks, so we were prepared for that.”
With the win, the Pack is now tied for the second-best winning streak in program history at 12. Bunn said that despite there being history on the line Friday when the team travels to take on Wake Forest, the team will prepare like it was any other game.
“Like it said in Bull Durham, ‘you take it one game at a time,’” Bunn said.
