The NC State volleyball team swept the Florida State Seminoles in three straight sets on Friday, Sept. 30. The match was the Pack’s first back in Reynolds Coliseum after four on the road. The Wolfpack fought hard against the Seminoles after coming off of a four-set loss against No. 10 Pittsburgh on Sept. 25.
Graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic opened the match with a kill, bringing the momentum towards NC State (8-6, 2-1 ACC), but the Wolfpack started slow in the first set, going back and forth with FSU (9-5, 1-2 ACC). Overall, the two adversaries tied 10 times throughout the opening set, but the Pack pulled ahead and took a 1-0 set lead off a kill by sophomore opposite hitter Amanda Rice. Bukilic ended the first set with three block assists and a kill, while freshman opposite hitter Ava Brizard led the team with five kills.
“So much has to do with discipline,” said head coach Luka Slabe. “It’s so easy for us to get out of discipline, and that was a big deal. When Vanya and Amanda were on the right side of the court in discipline, we weren’t touching them; we were stuffing them and life is easy.”
The second set started off with a challenge, literally, as Slabe called a coach’s challenge off of the first play. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, the officials ruled in FSU’s favor, but NC State came back and took a quick 10-6 lead, and kept a steady pace throughout the set. Sophomore outside hitter Martyna Leoniak dominated the back row during this set, and totaled 12 digs by the end of the match.
“I’m really happy; I’m happy after the loss to Pitt,” Leoniak said. “I’m really happy about the team, that we get to the ball, we block and swing. Everything we were doing really well after the loss to Pitt was really good for us.”
State finished the sweep in the third set, taking over the set from the very beginning. Back-to-back double blocks from Bukilic and sophomore middle blocker Jada Allen along with three kills in a row for Leoniak highlighted the final set, getting both the team and the fans in Reynolds excited. Martyna also scored two service aces for the Wolfpack, bringing the total for the team to four. Slabe credits the fans and the NC State marching band for the Pack’s exciting win.
“They showed up regardless of the weather and all the warnings,” Slabe said. “I would also like to thank our band because they made this ambiance so much better. We got to make sure we write them a card, a thank you note. It’s so nice because that feels a little more like ‘Pack.’”
NC State volleyball will be back in action at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. to take on the Miami Hurricanes.
