NC State volleyball began ACC play on the road as the team traveled to South Carolina to take on Clemson, and eventually sweep the Tigers. The Pack is now on a ten-game winning streak going into its marquee matchup against No. 13 Georgia Tech. 

The Wolfpack’s explosive start to the season carried over into its first ACC matchup while Clemson (9-4, 0-2) hosted NC State (11-1, 1-0) as its second ACC opponent of the season. The red-and-white were on a roll throughout the night, toppling the Tigers 3-0 in a quick matchup. 

The two teams went back and forth early in the first set. Despite a five-score run by the Tigers, the Pack pulled ahead through several smaller runs throughout the set. Senior defensive specialist Skye Stokes had back-to-back service aces during one of NC State’s three-score runs, and the red-and-white stayed ahead to take the set with a kill from sophomore opposite hitter Ava Brizard. 

The Pack took the first four points of the second set before going back and forth again with the Tigers. Junior outside hitter Martyna Leoniak recorded six kills in this set and recorded the most points for NC State this evening with 14.5 by the end of the match. Brizard finished off the second set — giving spectators deja vu —  with a kill to put the match at 2-0.

The Pack capitalized on Clemson’s  depleted energy in the third set and got ten points in the time it took the Tigers to get three. A great effort was put up again by Leoniak and Brizard, who both recorded 13 kills throughout the match. Clemson tried to come back slowly in the latter half of the set, but NC State was already set on getting the match over in three sets and it succeeded. The Pack was able to showcase some different players tonight, specifically Stokes and Leoniak, who both had some exciting moments throughout the match. 

NC State will be back on the court on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. in Atlanta, where it will compete against No. 13 Georgia Tech.