MATCH STATS
- N.C. State (RV) def. Wake Forest 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18)
- N.C. State moves to 20-11, 15-5 ACC; Wake Forest falls to 13-19, 5-15 ACC
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Attendance: 552
- Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The N.C. State Wolfpack ended the regular season on a positive note, snapping a three-match losing skid and securing a tie for third place in ACC play with a four-set win over Wake Forest on Friday.
The Wolfpack won the match, despite bested by the Demon Deacons .212 to .206 in hitting percentage, 4-3 in aces and 14-13 in blocks. N.C. State managed two more kills (53-51) and nine more digs (51-42).
Senior outside hitter Julia Brown led the N.C. State offense with 16 kills, while senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney notched 13 kills and a team-best 10 blocks. Senior outside Bree Bailey added 11 kills, wihle hitting at a team-best .360 clip. Senior libero Emily Harris (11) and junior defensive specialist Kassie Kasper (10) paced the Wolfpack backcourt with double-digit dig efforts.
Senior outside Kylie Long downed a match-high 21 kills for Wake Forest, while also putting up a team-best eight blokcs. Sophomore middle Caitlyn Della added 11 kills and four blocks, while hitting at a .381 clip. Senior libero Caroline Wolf was the lone Demon Deacon player with double-digit digs, posting a match-high 21.
N.C. State scored nine of the first 12 points in Set 1, including three Teni Sopitan kills, but it was not a runaway. Wake Forest cut the nine point marin to two at 15-13 with two kills each by Della and Caroline Rassenfoss and a pair of blocks. Down five at 22-17, the Deacs used a 6-1 run, including four Long stuffs, to knot the score at 23. A Long kill and a Wolfpack hitting error thwarted a N.C. State set point try at 24-23 and gave Wake Forest one of its own at 25-24. Kearney and Bailey notched kills and Lauryn Terry added a solo block to steal away the 27-25 win for the Wolfpack.
Wake rebounded by starting Set 2 on a 11-4 run, capitalizing on five N.C. State miscues and three kills and a block by Long. The Wolfpack would get no closer than four the rest of the stanza, rallying from down 24-17 with three straight points, before falling on a Rassenfoss putaway.
Brown tallied three kills and a block to give N.C. State a 6-1 lead in Set 3. A pair of Bailey putaways had the Wolfpack up five again at 11-6. A Wolf ace and Della kill brought Wake Forest within two at 12-10, but N.C. State pulled away with a 5-0 run, including four blocks. Down 21-16, the Deacs used a 6-1 run to knot things up at 22. Two kills and a block by Long and an ace by Caitlin Clarke led the way. The Wolfpack ended any further comeback hopes with three of the final four points, capped by a Bailey kill.
In Set 4, N.C. State hit at a .481 clip, with just two team hitting miscues en route to a 25-18 win. The Wolfpack surged ahead 10-5 and held the five-point edge against at 15-10. Kills by three different players had Wake Forest within two at 17-15. Three Bailey putaways helped stretch the margin back to five at 21-16. A pair of Kearney kills set up the final dagger by Brown at 25-18.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: N.C. State Athletics
For the second consecutive season, the NC State volleyball team reached the 20-win plateau as the Wolfpack defeated Wake Forest, 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18), Friday afternoon inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
With the win, NC State completes the season sweep against the Demon Deacons to improve to 20-11 and 15-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, the most wins in conference play in program history.
Wake Forest concludes the season with a 13-19 record and a 5-15 mark in conference action.
The Wolfpack will now await the decision of the NCAA Selection Committee to learn its postseason fate. The NCAA Selection Show will air live on ESPNU Sunday night at 9 p.m.
Worth Noting
– NC State reached 20 wins with the victory, as the Wolfpack records back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2012-13.
– The Wolfpack won the first set for 22nd time this season and NCSU owns an 18-4 record when winning the opening frame.
– NC State logged a .481 attacking percentage in the fourth set thanks to 15 kills on 27 attempts with only two errors.
– NCSU never trailed in the third set.
Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts…
“Excited that our team stepped up to the challenge of playing in our fourth road match,” said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “I’m proud of our persistence and perseverance against a tough opponent on their senior night.”
Match Rewind
– NC State started the match on fire, as the squad raced out to a 9-3 lead in the opening frame after a service ace from Julia Brown.
– The Wolfpack pulled ahead 22-17 in the set, but Wake Forest battled to even the score at 23-23.
– A kill from Kaitlyn Kearney fought off a set point opportunity for the Demon Deacons at 25-24 and the Pack closed out the frame on a 3-0 run to win it, 27-25.
– Wake Forest opened the second set by winning seven of the first nine points and NC State could not overcome the deficit, as the Deacs’ went on to win the frame, 25-20.
– The Wolfpack turned in a stellar start to the third frame, however; Wake Forest countered to fight its way back in the set.
– After NC State took a 17-10 lead, Wake Forest battled back to later even the set at 22-22 to force a Wolfpack timeout.
– Out of the break, NCSU closed out the set with a 3-1 run to win the set, 25-23, after a kill from Bree Bailey.
– The Pack jumped out to a 9-5 advantage in the fourth frame to force a Demon Deacons timeout after a service ace from Kearney.
– Back-to-back kills from Bailey gave NC State a 19-15 lead before another kill from the Salt Lake City, Utah native two rallies later to make it 20-16.
– With NCSU leading 23-18, Kearney tallied consecutive kills and Brown capped the set with a kill from the outside to give the Wolfpack a 25-18 win and 3-1 victory in the match.
Top Performers
– Brown led the Wolfpack with 16 kills in the contest and also charted nine digs to finish one shy of her third consecutive double-double.
– Kearney recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and also logged a season-high 10 blocks.
– Bailey also reached double digit kills with 11 in the match to go along with a .360 attacking percentage.
– At setter, Kylie Pickrell dished out 43 assists complemented by seven digs, five blocks and three kills.
– Defensively, libero Emily Harris collected 11 digs and Kassie Kasper added 10.
Up Next
NC State will now await the decision of NCAA Selection Committee to learn of its postseason fate. The NCAA Selection Show will be broadcast live on ESPNU Sunday night at 9 p.m.
Courtesy: Wake Forest Athletics
The Wake Forest volleyball team fell to NC State, 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18), on Friday afternoon in the season finale at LJVM Coliseum.
The Demon Deacons (13-19, 5-15 ACC) dropped a hard-fought first set, 29-27, before answering back with a 25-20 second-set victory to even the match at 1-1. However, the Wolfpack (20-11, 15-5 ACC) responded with a late third-set run to take a 2-1 match lead before controlling play in the fourth and claiming the 3-1 victory.
In their final match at Wake Forest, seniors Kylie Long and Caroline Wolf delivered outstanding performances. Long produced 21 kills to lead all players and move into second place on the program’s all-time kills list. Long also totaled a career-high eight total blocks. Wolf extended her career record for digs, leading the Demon Deacons with 21. After setting her career-high with 49 assists in Wednesday’s match against North Carolina, setter Madeline Holt tallied 46 assists.
NC State led early in the first, but the Deacs answered back to close the gap late in the set. With Wake Forest up, 25-24, the Wolfpack took three points in a row to win the set at 27-25. The Demon Deacons held a .235 to .179 hitting percentage edge in the set.
In the second set, Wake Forest raced out to a 7-2 lead and never looked back. NC State never led in the set and the Deacs evened the match with a 25-20 second-set victory. Long delivered seven kills in the set.
While the Demon Deacons fell behind, 17-10, midway through the third, they mounted a late rally to tie the score at 22. From there, NC State won three of the last four points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Wolfpack took control early in the fourth set and never trailed on their way to a 25-18 set victory that gave them the match at 3-1. Although Wake Forest hit .286 for the set, NC State hit .481 on its way to the win.
Despite the loss, the Demon Deacons held a .212 to .206 hitting percentage edge. It marks the first time all season that the Deacs have lost a match with a better hitting percentage than their opponent. Wake Forest also had a 14.5 to 13 advantage in blocks.
Before the match, Wake Forest seniors Kylie Long, Bailey Shurbet and Caroline Wolf were honored for their contributions to the Demon Deacon program.
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