NC State volleyball faced off with George Washington on Wednesday in a masterclass of offensive power, pulling away with an easy 3-0 win. With this win the Pack stretched to a nine-game win streak — the longest in eight years — and the best starting record during head coach Luka Slabe’s reign.
The Pack (10-1) came into the mid-week matchup fresh off of a 3-0 win against UNC-Charlotte on Tuesday, Sept. 12, and the team didn’t miss a beat coming into the game against the Colonials (2-7). While the red-and-white were able to easily pull away with a win, it was also able to place a few names into the NC State history books.
Junior opposite hitter Amanda Rice placed her name in the books as she hit 500 career kills at NC State throughout her 182 sets played for the program. Slabe earned his 50th win with the Pack, becoming only the sixth head coach in program history to do so.
“Oh my God, I feel so great,” Rice said. “But, you know, I can’t do it without the team — it’s a team effort — but it feels really great. I’m super excited about it.”
It was a dominant offensive showing in the first set for the Pack — totalling 17 kills throughout the 25-point match — as well as giving into the team’s block party theme for the night. NC State was able to get four block assists through the first set, courtesy of Rice, senior middle blocker Riley Shaak, junior middle blocker Jada Allen and freshman outside hitter Clara Vondran.
“I swear every year the team just gets closer and closer,” Rice said. “ …We all love each other. We have built a connection over the last few weeks that is just obviously showing in the winning streak that we have.”
The second set was another quick win for the red-and-white as they took the set 25-16. Sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard led the team with five kills this set, as well as having a few clutch digs on defense. Allen and senior setter Kristen McDaniel kept the team momentum going as each recorded a service ace, adding to the final count of eight by the end of the game.
The third and final set truly showed the Pack’s dominance on the court, as they were able to come-from-behind and take control over the court once again. Despite a rocky start in which the Colonials got their first and only lead of the game, NC State took over with an 11-1 scoring run to finish the game 25-12.
“I think overall it was a successful non-conference , just because of how the girls played and how they fought,” said assistant coach Jeremiah Gonidakis. “I thought that it was really good that some people stepped up with some injuries that we had, so we had different players step up and play really well. I’m really excited for them.”
Brizard once again led the team in kills, totalling 11 this match, and she was followed quickly by Rice with nine. The red-and-white swung hard and fast all throughout the match, totaling 40 kills through the three sets played.
“When we have a pin that we can trust to get kills, night in and night out, when we step on the floor, it just brings a level of confidence to the rest of the team as well,” Gonbidakis said. “[The team doesn’t] have to do anything crazy, just play their volleyball, and we’re gonna be okay. Amanda has done a really nice job of getting better at that this year.”
With the non-conference schedule over, the team will look ahead to ACC play coming quickly. The Wolfpack will start conference play in South Carolina, as it travels to Clemson on Friday, Sept. 22nd.
