The NC State volleyball team defeated the Sam Houston Bearkats in five sets, two of them requiring extra points. The Pack succeeded in the K-State Invitational with two wins and one loss.
The Wolfpack alternated wins and losses in the first four sets, dropping the first 27-25, then winning 25-23, followed by another 27-25 loss and won the fourth 25-19. The Pack won the match in another close set, 15-13.
Both teams nearly matched in kills, with State barely holding a 63-61 lead. The teams were also almost identical in attack errors with NC State at 31 and Sam Houston at 30. However, the Pack had double the amount of service aces as the Bearkats with 12.
Senior defensive specialist Hannah Wander notched five of those aces, giving the Wolfpack that small edge to win the match. She played in all five sets and contributed 10 digs as well.
Freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard had the most amount of kills on the team with 20. She also tallied four blocks and eight digs in an all-around solid performance.
Sophomore middle blocker Jada Allen saw five sets of action as well, tallying 14 kills in the match. This double-digit performance was higher than both of her totals the previous day, so she will likely see more action because of it.
The two-day K-State Invitational results in two wins and one loss for the Pack. It will travel home on Sept. 2 to play Colgate in Reynolds Coliseum. The home opener will begin at 7 p.m.
