Despite it being Friday the 13th, the NC State volleyball team did not flinch in the face of fear in its ACC matchup against Wake Forest. In fact, the Pack bested the Demon Deacons 3-1 in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack (14-4, 4-3 ACC) came into the Friday night matchup hoping to shake off some away-game blues after it lost to both FSU and Miami last weekend. Wake Forest (14-5, 5-3 ACC), on the other hand, came with a three-game win streak on the line.
As soon as the first set got underway, one thing was clear: Wake Forest was ready to roll. After the Demon Deacons started the game on a 6-0 run — in which all of their points but one came from kills — everyone in Reynolds Coliseum could see that visitors were not going down without a fight. The red-and-white was playing catch-up the whole set, with the greatest deficit being 16-5. Despite battling back with a few scoring runs, NC State couldn’t take the first set back.
This first set loss lit a fire on the Pack’s side of the court though, enabling the red-and-white to sweep the next three sets to take the game.
The second set was a true showing of NC State’s offensive prowess, with the ladies of the court totalling four service aces. As the team worked its way up to 12 total kills during the set, sophomore outside hitters Ava Brizard and Courtney Bryant worked their magic. Brizard finished the game with 13 total kills, followed closely by Bryant with 11.
After taking the second set 25-18, the Pack was hungry for more. Graduate setter Kristen McDaniel nailed a service ace near the start of the third set to get the Wolfpack going — her 22nd of the season so far. With another 12-kill set, NC State was able to keep Wake below 15 points, winning it 25-12. Back-to-back block assists from junior opposite hitter Martyna Leoniak and junior middle blocker Jada Allen got the crowd and the defense going.
Allen finished the game with nine block assists while Leoniak tallied seven. Senior defensive specialist Skye Stokes took on 18 digs in the matchup, putting her total at 246 on the season.
The fourth set was reminiscent of the first, except the Pack managed to come out on top. There were 13 total scoring ties throughout the final set and seven changes in the lead. The red-and-white ultimately came out on top, tallying 15 kills alongside two more service aces in the last set to bring the final score to 3-1.
The Wolfpack will have home-court advantage for its next three games. Up next, the Pack will take on Virginia Tech on Sunday, Oct. 15 with first serve set for 1 p.m.
