The NC State volleyball team snapped a three-match losing skid with an easy 3-0 sweep of the Clemson Tigers Friday, Oct. 28 in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (12-10, 6-5 ACC) dominated the first and third sets, winning them by a combined 26 points, and won the second set by five points to sweep the Tigers (12-11, 3-8 ACC).
NC State led from start to finish in the first set. With the score 12-9, the Pack went on an 8-1 run to go up 20-10. After the Tigers scored the next point, NC State scored the following five points to win the set 25-11.
The Pack had to come back in the second set as the Tigers led for a majority of the first half of the set. NC State finally caught up and took its first lead at 14-13 and never looked back. The closest Clemson got it was 20-19, but the Pack scored five of the next six points to win 25-20 and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
Just like the first set, it was all NC State in the third as it never trailed. The Pack went on a 5-0 run early on to go up 8-3, a lead it would hold the rest of the way. NC State dominated the latter half of the set, winning 10 of the final 13 points to clinch the set 25-13 and complete the sweep.
NC State won the battle of kills, tallying 44 to Clemson’s 31, and the Pack was much more efficient offensively, finishing with a staggering hitting percentage of .388 while holding the Tigers to just .083. Another notable stat was that Clemson committed a whopping 21 attack errors and five service errors, while NC State committed just four attack errors and one service error.
Leading the Pack’s efforts was freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard, who finished with a match-high 16 kills. Graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic also finished in double digits with 11 kills. Graduate libero Priscilla Hernandez led all players in digs with 21, sophomore middle blocker Jada Allen led all in blocks with eight and junior setter Naomi Cabello led the team in assists with 18.
After losing three matches in a row and four of its last five, it was critical for NC State to get back on track against one of the ACC’s lower-tier teams. The Pack now has a huge task ahead as it hosts No. 10 Georgia Tech on Sunday, Oct. 30. That match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
