The NC State volleyball team enjoyed a successful weekend, as the squad went 3-0 in the Courtyard Midtown Classic, capturing its second consecutive title. The Pack averaged an outstanding 3.0 kills per set, and senior outside hitter Rachel Buckley was named tournament MVP.
The tournament kicked off on Friday, when the Wolfpack (5-1) took down the Rice Owls (4-3) in a barnburner that stretched to the fifth and final set.
After dominating the first set, 25-18, the Pack had to hold off a late comeback from the Owls late in the second to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set was closely contested at first, but Rice broke out on a 9-3 run to avoid a 3-0 sweep. Riding that momentum, the Owls jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth and won the set, 25-19, to send the match into a tie-breaking fifth set.
Wolfpack Head Coach Bryan Bunn said, in the huddle prior to the fifth set, he challenged his team to gain back the momentum.
“I said, ‘It’s on you guys,’” Bunn said. “It’s not a matchup deal; it’s an execution issue. We had to execute better, and we did.”
The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team gaining much leverage, but with the score knotted at 8-8, the Pack broke off a 7-1 run to earn the win. Senior outside hitter Dariyan Hopper spiked the final two kills for State.
“I just wanted to end it,” Hopper said. “Everybody loves an overpass.”
Bunn said the defense made all the difference in the fifth set.
“We played with more confidence,” Bunn said. “They only had four kills. In sets three and four, they hit .260 and .360, and then we played better defense in the fifth set.”
In the final set, the Owls hit a subpar .091, while the Pack recorded an incredible .438 kill percentage.
Freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney had a strong showing on Friday, notching 14 kills with an outstanding .545 kill percentage.
The State team continued its stellar weekend play against Toledo (0-6) on Saturday. The Pack made short work of the Rockets, defeating them in straight sets all while hitting .357 as a team. The Toledo squad has been dreadful all season, being swept in all six of its matches so far.
The middle blockers led the way for the Pack against the Rockets — senior Alesha Wilson and redshirt sophomore Morgan Cormier combined for 26 kills with a .538 kill percentage. Both Wilson and Cormier earned all-tournament honors at the end of the event on Saturday.
“It’s awesome,” Wilson said. “I love getting accolades because it shows that you are doing good work for the team.”
After the win against Toledo, UConn (3-3) were the only thing standing between the Pack and a tournament title. State responded well to the challenge, winning the match in four sets.
Buckley continued to dominate on the offensive side of the court against the Huskies, recording a team-high 14 kills in the match and committing only a single error. With her consistently high level of play, the Carrollton, Texas, native earned tournament MVP honors.
Buckley was quick to give credit to her teammates for her success.
“The middles did a great job of pulling the block, so I can’t even take credit because they kept giving me a seam,” Buckley said.
As a captain of the team, Buckley is the most vocal player on the court. Bunn said that her in-game energy is a big plus for the team.
“She just has a big personality,” Bunn said. “She’s our vocal leader. All the girls look up to her. She knows what it takes be successful and win, and she knows the energy that you have to put into it.”
