The NC State volleyball team started its ACC schedule with a 3-2 win against the Virginia Cavaliers in five sets.
The beginning of set one was all Wolfpack (7-5, 1-0 ACC), as the team took a commanding 6-1 lead that led to a Cavs (8-4, 0-1 ACC) timeout. Afterwards, NC State proceeded to build a nine-point lead. Any pre-game jitters were shaken out as Virginia took over and brought the game to 23-20. The set required extra points, resulting in a set win and a 1-0 lead for Virginia. At this point, NC State led the game with 15 kills, and freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard led the Wolfpack with five of her own.
The second set was in the Wolfpack’s favor as it pulled off a 25-17 win. The start of this set was a battle with both teams trading points back and forth, but NC State managed to pull ahead. The red-and-white’s five-point streak made it 22-14, and the Pack won the set off of block assists from junior middle blocker Riley Shaak and sophomore outside hitter Martyna Leonak. Leoniak and sophomore middle blocker Jada Allen tied for most block assists during the set with four each, and Brizard was the first player in the match to hit 10 kills.
The third and fourth sets were back-and-forth battles, with neither team able to keep a stable lead. Points were traded back and forth, but NC State was able to increase its lead to 2-1 with a 25-23 win in the third set. The Wolfpack tallied up 40 kills, 36 set assists and 10 blocks at this point in the match. The Cavaliers came back in the fourth set to win 25-18 with the 2-2 set score pushing the match into its fifth set.
The beginning of the final set was much like the previous two, with neither team able to create a lead. The Wolfpack took a 9-5 lead after scoring four unanswered points, which included another block from Brizard and block assists from graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic and Shaak. NC State won the set and match off of a kill from sophomore opposite hitter Amanda Rice. By the end of the match, NC State totaled 55 kills, with Brizard leading the team with 17, tying her season high.
The Wolfpack will continue its ACC schedule on the road as it travels to Pittsburgh to take on the No. 12 Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.
