The NC State volleyball team has completed its nonconference portion of the schedule and will begin ACC play this weekend. On Friday, the Pack (5-7) will travel to Louisville to take on the Cardinals (7-3), and then to Notre Dame on Sunday to battle the Fighting Irish (7-3).
This past weekend the Pack went 0-2 in the ACC-SEC Challenge with losses to Georgia and Arkansas, but rebounded against Furman on Sunday with a 3-0 victory.
Senior middle blocker Lauryn Terry has been a constant for the Pack this season in the blocks category, leading the team with 56 blocks, 22 ahead of the next closest total. Against Georgia, Terry tied a program-record with 14 blocks out of the Pack’s total of 15 in one match.
Friday’s match against Louisville will be the Pack’s toughest test up to this point with the Cardinals receiving the most votes without being ranked in the past week’s AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll.
The Cardinals are led by outside hitter Melanie McHenry, who leads the team in kills with 119 total kills and 3.61 per set. She has currently scored 140 points for the Cardinals this year.
In the series, the Cardinals hold a 4-1 record against the Pack, as the two have only played each other since Louisville joined the ACC. Last year the Cardinals defeated NC State by a score of 3-1.
As for the match against the Irish on Sunday, the Pack holds a 6-2 overall record over them and a 5-2 record while playing against each other in the ACC. Last year’s matchup saw NC State defeat Notre Dame 3-1 in South Bend.
However, this year the Irish have already picked up a signature win against the Purdue Boilermakers, who were ranked No. 18 at the time, and have posted a good record up through non-conference play.
The Irish are led by outside hitter Charley Niego and right side hitter Sydney Bent, who have 135 and 132 kills respectively on the year thus far. On the defensive side, graduate middle blocker Kristin Baer leads the team in blocks with 47 in 10 matches.
Friday’s match at Louisville will begin at 7 p.m. while Sunday’s match against Notre Dame will be a 1 p.m. start with both matches being broadcasted live on the ACC Network Extra.
