Layla Ponce
NC State celebrates after scoring a point against Akron in Reynolds Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. NC State beat Akron 3-2.
NC State volleyball defeated the Green Bay Phoenix 3-2 on Saturday in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (3-0) came into the game looking to sweep the opening weekend in which it hosted the Summit Hospitality Tournament. After previously beating Akron and Army, its final game was against Green Bay (0-2).
After a back-and-forth start to the first set in which Green Bay had an 11-10 lead, the Phoenix went on a run and took control with a 22-16 lead before finishing with a 25-19 set win. NC State then won a close second set 25-23, tying the match 1-1.
“It started getting a little quiet,” said head coach Megan Wargo-Kearney. “Can’t do that. There’s no more getting quiet. We’ve just got to rally together. It’s all these little things that are non-volleyball.”
After another back-and-forth set, in what seemed like déjà vu, Green Bay took a large lead at 19-13 and held on to win the set 25-20. The Pack took complete control halfway through the fourth and won 25-15. Closing the deal, the Wolfpack won the fifth set 15-13 to clinch the match.
Despite going down 2-1 in the match, the red-and-white rallied back and got the win — a good sign for the young volleyball team.
“It takes not worrying about the score, staying fearless, and taking big swings even if you are down 2-1, you can’t have your mindset scared,” said freshman opposite hitter Jordan Smith.
Smith led the Pack with 15 kills. For a freshman, this was an impressive statistic and goes to show how much potential not only Smith has on this team, but the entire freshman class.
“Obviously we lost a lot of offense in Amanda Rice, but we’ve known for two years that Jordan was coming in, and we know that she’s going to be our next kind of franchise player,” said Wargo-Kearney. “She’s got a big arm, and she’s got a motor like nobody’s ever seen but she’s got a really hard work ethic.”
Smith wasn’t alone, though. Freshman outside hitter Rebecca Ring added 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Courtney Bryant chipped in seven. While she wasn’t available, senior middle blocker Sophie Groom still led on the sidelines.
“They do a great job whenever we have a raw freshman moment, they’re there to have our back,” said Smith.
Starting the season 3-0, there’s a lot to build on as the Pack takes a road trip to Manhattan, Kansas to take on Kansas State. Not only its first road game of the season, but also the first game against a team from a power conference.
“Now we’re going to see another Power Four team,” said Wargo-Kearney. “They’re not as youthful as us. They have a lot of new players, though. I wanted to do this because if we didn’t fly this next week, we wouldn’t have flown to the end of October, the way our ACC schedule worked out.”
The Wolfpack will face the Wildcats on Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m.