Press Release courtesy of NC State Athletics
The NC State volleyball team will conclude its regular-season slate this week when the squad travels to Duke Wednesday afternoon and Wake Forest Friday evening. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. against the Blue Devils inside Cameron Indoor Stadium and 1:30 p.m. Friday versus the Demon Deacons inside Reynolds Gym.
Both matches will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App.
NC State owns a 19-10 overall record heading into the week, highlighted by a 14-4 mark in conference play. Duke is 17-12 and 9-9 in the ACC, while Wake Forest is 12-18 and 4-14 in conference matches.
Last Time Out
In its most recent outing, the Wolfpack dropped a hard-fought battle at Notre Dame, 3-2. The match featured 51 tied scores and 23 lead changes, but the Fighting Irish were able to earn the victory in five sets.
Last Time Versus Duke
NC State won the first meeting between the programs this season with a 3-0 victory against Duke inside Reynolds Coliseum on October 8. It was the Wolfpack’s first sweep versus the Blue Devils since 2000.
In that match, NCSU rallied from a 24-19 deficit in the second set to win the frame, 27-25. The Pack closed out the set on an 8-1 run.
Last Time Versus Wake Forest
In the first meeting against Wake Forest, NC State earned the victory in straight sets, 3-0, thanks to a .341 team attacking percentage, which is the third-best mark by the squad in ACC play this season.
Wolfpack in the ACC Rankings
Heading into the final week of regular-season ACC play, NC State leads the conference in total kills with 1,562, total assists with 1,473 and assists per set with 13.51.
The Wolfpack is second in the conference in attacking percentage with a .254 clip and kills per set with 14.33.
NC State’s 13.51 assists per set ranks 14th in the NCAA and the Pack’s 14.33 kills per set is 17th nationally.
Pickrell SETTING the Standard
NC State’s Kylie Pickrell has done an excellent job coordinating the Wolfpack’s offense from her setter position, as she leads the ACC in total assists (1,138) and assists per set (10.84). Her assists per set total ranks 39th in the NCAA.
Stellar Defensive Effort at Notre Dame
Despite the loss at Notre Dame on Sunday, NC State broke the rally-scoring era program record with 106 digs in the contest. That mark eclipses the previous mark of 102 achieved against Clemson in 2012.
Three Players With 20 or More Digs
For the first time this season, the Wolfpack had three different players record more than 20 digs in Sunday’s match at Notre Dame. Senior libero Emily Harris led the way with 23 digs, while Kassie Kasper added a career-high 22 and Kylie Pickrell collected 20.
Julia Brown finished closely behind the group with 19. NC State’s 106 digs is tied for the third most by a team in the ACC this season.
Winningest ACC Class in Program History
This year’s senior class of Bree Bailey, Julia Brown, Emily Harris, Kaitlyn Kearney and Perry Ramsey is the winningest ACC class in program history. The group owns 37 career conference wins to top the previous mark of 36.
Breaking the Program Record for ACC Wins
NC State broke the program record for ACC wins with its 14th victory of the season in its final home match of the season versus Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack eclipsed the previous mark held by the 2016 squad with 13.
Head Coach Linda Hampton-Keith and her staff now own the top-two winningest conference seasons in program history.
Undefeated ACC Home Season
The Wolfpack also closed out its ACC home slate with a perfect 10-0 record after defeating the Yellow Jackets. It marks the first undefeated ACC home season with at least five home matches in program history.
Scouting Duke
Duke owns a 6-6 home record this season, which includes a 4-3 mark versus ACC opponents inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils split last weekend’s matches, winning 3-1 at Boston College before falling at Syracuse by the same margin.
The Wolfpack has now won the last two matchups versus the Blue Devils, as head coach Linda Hampton-Keith is 2-0 against the squad.
Cadie Bates leads a balanced Duke offensive attack with 348 kills, averaging 3.08 kills per set. Payton Schwantz is right behind her with 326 kills and Samantha Amos owns 243 kills. Emma Paradiso and Sarah Nelson have split time at the setter position with the former handing out 5.96 assists per set and the latter 5.60.
Defensively, libero Nicole Elattrache has collected 4.23 digs per set.
Duke owns a .223 team attacking percentage, while limiting opponents to a .213 clip.
Scouting Wake Forest
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are 6-5 in home matches at Reynolds Gym this season with a 3-5 record in ACC home matches. The Demon Deacons host UNC-Chapel Hill Wednesday afternoon before taking on NC State Friday.
In its last outing, Wake Forest came up short at Boston College, 3-0.
NC State has won the last five meetings with the Deacs’, including a 3-0 sweep earlier this season inside Reynolds Coliseum.
Senior outside hitter Kylie Long leads the team offensively with 400 kills, averaging 3.67 kills per set. At setter, Madeline Holt has dished out 8.40 assists per set and libero Caroline Wolf headlines the Deacs defense with 4.18 digs per set.
Wake Forest has a team attacking percentage of .172 and its opponents have compiled a .203 clip.
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