Press Release courtesy of NC State Athletics
The NC State volleyball team, tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) standings, will travel to the Sunshine State this weekend for a pair of league matches. The Wolfpack will play at Miami Friday night at 7 p.m. and Florida State Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Both matches will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App.
NC State owns a 14-7 overall record heading into the weekend, highlighted by a 9-1 mark in conference play. The Hurricanes are 12-4 and 6-4 in the ACC, while the Seminoles are 11-7 and 5-5 in conference matches.
Last Time Out
In its last outing, NC State took down previously unbeaten Pittsburgh, 3-1, to move into a tie for first place in the conference. Despite the teams being tied with identical 9-1 records, the Wolfpack would own the tiebreaker thanks to winning the head-to-head matchup.
Last Time at Miami
The Wolfpack earned a 3-1 win at Miami last season to record the program’s first-ever win in Coral Gables. NC State dropped the first set in that match, but stormed back to win the next three.
The win helped the Pack complete its first-ever season sweep of the Hurricanes, as NC State won the first meeting of the season at home, 3-1.
Last Time at Florida State
NC State picked up the program’s first top-10 win in last year’s trip to Tallahassee, as the Wolfpack held off a late comeback to defeat Florida State, 3-2. It was NCSU’s first victory against the Seminoles since 1999 and the first on their home court since 1995.
It was also the first time that Florida State had lost at home while ranked in the top 10, snapping a streak of 19 consecutive wins.
Brown Making Her Mark
NC State outside hitter Julia Brown enters the weekend with 1,176 career kills, which is just two shy of breaking the rally-scoring era record of 1,178 held by Dariyan Hopper.
She currently owns the third-most kills by an active ACC player behind Wake Forest’s Kylie Long with 1,419 and Miami’s Olga Strantzali with 1,249 kills.
Brown broke the rally-scoring era record for kills in a single-season last year with 489 and surpassed 1,000 career kills against LIU Brooklyn earlier this season.
Approaching Milestones
After breaking the program record for career blocks last week at UNC-Chapel Hill, senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney has the opportunity to reach another milestone this weekend. She owns 994 career kills and is just six shy of becoming the third player on the NC State roster with at least 1,000 career kills.
She would become the only active player in the ACC with 1,000 kills and 500 blocks and one of four student-athletes among NCAA Division I to accomplish the feat.
Rare Company for NC State
NC State would become one of two schools to have three players on its roster with 1,000 career kills should Kearney reach the mark this weekend, as only top-ranked Penn State can claim the honor.
The Wolfpack is the only program in the ACC with two active players with at least 1,000 career kills.
Opening Strong
In 21 matches this season, NC State has won the opening set in 16 of those contests. The Wolfpack is outscoring opponents in the first set, 514-440, the largest margin in any set.
NCSU has won 13 of 16 matches this season when winning the first set.
The Higher, The Better
NC State has logged a 13-2 record this season when recording a higher hitting percentage than its opponents. Additionally, the Wolfpack has a 12-2 mark when tallying more digs in the contest.
Scouting Miami
The Miami Hurricanes started the season 9-0 before suffering their first loss at Louisville. Miami split a pair of matches over the weekend, getting revenge against the Louisville Cardinals with a 3-1 win before falling to Notre Dame in a five-set match.
Senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali leads the ACC with 4.78 kills per set for a total of 301 on the year. Kolby Bird is the team’s second-best offensive threat with 3.47 kills per set. At setter, Haley Templeton has dished out 10.71 assists per set to rank first in the conference. Defensively, libero Sylvia Hernandez has collected 4.00 digs per set.
Miami is one of the top serving teams in the league with 1.51 aces per set and is also one of the top offenses. The ‘Canes rank third in the ACC in kills per set with 13.57 and third in assists per set, behind only NC State and Pitt.
Scouting Florida State
Florida State began the season ranked 15th in the Preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll, but the Seminoles are a young team and have had challenges. FSU dropped both of its matches last weekend, falling 3-1 against Notre Dame and 3-0 versus Louisville.
Senior right side Milica Kubura leads the offensive attack for the Seminoles with 3.78 kills per set, while Natasha Calkins is second on the squad with 2.73 kps. Brianne Burkert is the team’s setter and has dished out 8.53 assists per set. At libero, Cecile Woie ranks second in the ACC with 4.43 digs per set.
As a team, Florida State has recorded a .224 attacking percentage and its opponents have managed a .223 clip.
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