For the first time since 2017 and the first since head coach Luka Slabe joined the program in 2020, NC State volleyball hit the 20-win mark in regular season play. The Pack defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 3-1, furthering the team’s bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Pack (20-7, 10-6 ACC) has been on the rise all season and this win against the Hokies (12-14, 2-13 ACC) helped place NC State back into the postseason conversation. Virginia Tech has lost six games in a row in 2023 and have now lost 11 games to the red-and-white in the last five years.
It was clear in the first set that the Hokies had a slight advantage over the Pack. Virginia Tech hadn’t played a game since Nov. 5, while NC State beat Boston College just two days earlier. With a more rested lineup, the Hokies took off in the first set. The Wolfpack struggled on serve receive, with Virginia Tech tallying four service aces in its first nine points of the match.
The Wolfpack was not playing its best volleyball throughout the first set, only totaling 16 points compared to the Hokies’ 25. 11 of those 16 points came from kills, with junior middle blocker Jada Allen, junior opposite hitter Amanda Rice and sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard putting the team on their backs.
Set two was better for the red-and-white — the team hit 15 kills en route to a 25-22 set win. Brizard totaled four kills and a block assist for the Pack, and redshirt junior outside hitter Madison Williams stepped up on the court alongside her. Junior opposite hitter Martyna Leoniak was the Hokies’ main target. Leoniak struggled on both serve receive and digging but was able to make up for it with her offensive talents at the net.
Allen hit 300 career blocks with a block assist that brought the second set to 24-22 in favor of the Pack. Allen, who has played in every game so far this season, has proven to be a key part of the Pack’s defense, totalling 96 block assists on the season.
The third set saw a decline in the Pack’s number of kills — the team only hit 11 compared to the previous set’s 15. The team made up for this drop on the service line, recording a total of five throughout the set. Allen was responsible for three of those aces while Leoniak and graduate setter Kristen McDaniel chipped in one each. Their contributions helped propel the red-and-white to a 25-19 set win, causing the momentum to swing back in the Pack’s favor.
Up 2-1, NC State looked to finish the match in the fourth set. With only one scoring tie and 18 kills, NC State swiftly took the final set and won the matchup 3-1. Rice, Leoniak and Williams all shined within the final set.
With only two games left in the regular season, the Wolfpack needs to make every set count. The NCAA Tournament selection show is on Sunday, Nov. 26, and NC State seems to be on track to make an appearance.
For its next match, the Wolfpack will travel back to Raleigh to take on the Clemson Tigers on Friday, Nov. 17 with first serve set for 7 p.m.
