Women’s tennis returns to the court
Coming off of a record-breaking season, four members of the NC State women’s tennis team returned to the court earlier this week. Fifth-year Nell Miller and juniors Amelia Rajecki, Sophie Abrams and Gina Dittman hit the ground running at the Wahoowa Invitational in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Both pairings — Abrams/Dittman and Rajecki/Miller — went 2-2 in doubles competition. Although these duos may be temporary, the departure of Priska Nugroho, Abrams’ primary doubles partner, means we might see more of Abrams and Dittman together on the court this season.
Abrams stood out among the pack in singles competition, picking up two victories and two losses during the invitational. Dittman, Rajecki and Miller all went 1-2, falling to opponents from UVA, LSU and Princeton. That being said, NC State’s sole ranked singles win came from Rajecki, who posted 6-4, 6-3 over No. 94 Safiya Carrington of LSU.
Read more about NC State’s performance at the Wahoowa Invitational.
Poor performance pushes women’s soccer to first ACC loss of the season
In its second ACC match of the season, the NC State women’s soccer team fell to Virginia Tech after a mediocre offensive performance. Junior goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta made nine saves in total to keep the match within a one-goal margin, but the Pack’s offense simply wasn’t up to challenging the Hokies’ formidable defense.
With just one shot on goal throughout the entire match, NC State never really found its footing. Despite Echezarreta’s impressive performance alongside the likes of graduate defenders Jenna Butler and Lulu Guttenberger, the Wolfpack will need to shape up ahead of its next few matches.
Read more about the Pack’s tough loss to Virginia Tech.
Volleyball kicks off ACC schedule with 3-2 win in Charlottesville
In an exciting back-and-forth battle, NC State’s volleyball squad commanded a 3-2 win against the Cavaliers last week to cement its first ACC win of the season.
Although the Pack posted a 6-1 lead early on, UVA ultimately took the first set in 26-24 despite trailing throughout. In the second set, sophomores Jada Allen and Martyna Leoniak tied for most block assists, posting four each en route to a 25-17 victory to tie things up.
After back-to-back battles that raised the set score to 2-2, the Wolfpack took the fifth and final set 15-8 thanks to a kill from sophomore opposite hitter Amanda Rice. Graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic led the Pack with 17 kills, racking up nearly a third of NC State’s total match kills.
Read more about NC State’s match against the Cavaliers.
Men’s soccer wins first ACC match at home
A sweet header from sophomore forward Luke Hille gave the NC State men’s soccer team its first conference win this week over the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Wolfpack, now 1-2 in conference play, is hoping to bring that momentum back against Louisville on Sept. 30.
Although Hille’s header was the highlight of the evening, sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Hatsios fended off the Hokies’ attacks with ease. Twenty minutes into the second period, a team effort kept Virginia Tech from touching the scoreboard thanks to the defense’s prowess.
Read more about the Pack’s win over the Hokies.
Icepack puts up seven goals against Drexel to win home opener
Despite a 9-3 loss to the Liberty Flames last week, the Icepack returned home with a vengeance to demolish the Division II Drexel Dragons 7-1 on Sept. 23.
Sophomore forward Philip Bailey picked up his first career hat trick, an impressive performance from the Holly Springs native. His third and final goal, with only 5:17 left in the third period, secured the Icepack’s first hat trick of the season.
Senior goalkeeper Eric Daniel’s admirable performance on goal kept the Dragons at bay, allowing only one goal on 21 shots. Next up, the Icepack will face conference rivals UNC for what will likely be an entertaining showdown at home.
Read more about Icepack’s home ice domination over Drexel.
Rousing victory for football ahead of top-10 showdown at Death Valley
A dominating performance from NC State’s football team over the UConn Huskies propelled the Pack further into the national spotlight ahead of this weekend’s highly anticipated showdown against No. 5 Clemson.
31-point margin aside, the most exciting moment was by far the first play of the game — right from the jump, redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary’s pass to graduate receiver Thayer Thomas for a 75-yard touchdown set the tone for the rest of the night. All in all, the Wolfpack amassed 429 total yards to UConn’s 160 and had already commanded a 35-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
This weekend, the No. 10 Wolfpack heads to Death Valley to face the Tigers, the first top-10 matchup in program history. With Clemson’s shaky performance against Wake Forest this week and a primetime spot on ABC, it’s now up to the Pack to take down the Tigers on their home turf.
Read more about NC State’s fourth-straight football victory.
