Dylan Ribott
Freshman opposite hitter Jordan Smith celebrates after scoring a point during the match against Army in Reynolds Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. Smith had 6 kills. NC State beat Army 3-0.
With authority, NC State swept Cleveland State in its first matchup of the Wolfpack Invitational 3-0 to stay undefeated at home.
The Wolfpack (6-1) took down the Vikings (0-8) in dominant fashion and remained poised in the face of adversity. After taking the first set, the Pack looked sluggish in the second and Cleveland State clawed back into the contest. But with a 7-0 run aided by unpredictable yet effective serves from senior middle blocker Lily Cropper, the Pack shut the door in the second set and dominated the third set to close the match.
“Serving pressure is a big thing there,” associate head coach Jeremiah Gonidakis said. “The beginning of the game wasn’t great, but we picked it up, put a little bit more pressure on them, got them out of system, making it a little bit easier for our blockers and defenders. And then, of course, Jordan on the right side was taking care of business.”
Freshman opposite hitter Jordan Smith displayed her prowess at the net, executing at an extremely high rate with 17 kills in 32 attacks. She climbed ahead to take the top spot on the season kill list with 69. She posted a career high in kills with 17 and career high hit percentage of .438.
“There was a lot of daylight, so there was a lot of room for me to swing,” Smith said. “The middles weren’t closing on the other side, and my center Elaisa [Villar] was getting me really good balls.”
Along with Smith’s dominance at the net, the Pack prevailed at the service line — something which has been emphasized by the coaching staff. Cropper, finding the most success on the serve, posted five aces.
“We want to be able to hit a ball hard and flat deep in the court,” said Gonidakis. “But we also want to be able to take a little bit of speed off, still hit it flat, but for it to die in front of passers. And so if we can do that, we’ll keep them on their toes a little bit, not just passing one serve over and over again. And so she dialed it up a couple times tonight. It was pretty successful.”
While NC State built an early lead thanks to a couple of aces, the third set was marked by numerous service errors from both sides. Consistent blocking efforts by Smith, Cropper and freshman middle blocker Talia Francom allowed the Wolfpack to maintain its lead throughout the third before eventually winning the set 25-19, handing the Vikings their eighth loss of the season.
To close its final home tournament of the season, NC State will take on Coastal Carolina (6-2) on Sunday at 6 p.m., looking to remain undefeated at home.