The NC State women’s volleyball team swept the Syracuse Orange in three straight sets on Friday, Oct. 14th in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack (11-7, 5-2 ACC) dominated the majority of the match after coming off a tough loss to conference rival Wake Forest on Sunday, Oct. 9, while Syracuse (8-9, 4-3 ACC) extended its losing streak to three games. It was a close first set with both teams trading points back and forth, but State showed up and took the momentum in the second and third sets to complete the clean sweep.
“We’ve been working on driving into balls and making sure we’re not fearing the volleyball,” said graduate libero Priscilla Hernandez.
This confident attitude was certainly on display tonight as the Wolfpack dictated most of the game while Syracuse fought to stay above water.
NC State came out swinging in the first set, building its momentum from the very first point of the game, a kill by sophomore outside hitter Martyna Leoniak. High energy from both teams led to multiple longer rallies throughout the set in which both teams made impressive plays. A string of sloppy plays from the red-and-white allowed the Orange to cut the lead to two, but ultimately the Pack carved out the set victory, 25-22.
The Wolfpack looked a little rattled starting the second set as Syracuse took a 4-1 lead. This lead was short-lived though, with the Pack rallying behind Hernandez’s second service ace of the match to knot things up at 5-5. From there it was all Wolfpack, who took the set with a dominating 25-16 score.
“Syracuse is statistically one of the best, fastest serve receiving teams in the ACC,” said head coach Luka Slabe. “If not the best, I would have to go check [their stats] out. … So we kept them way below their average, and that helps.”
The third and final set was once again a show of Wolfpack power. Junior setter Naomi Cabello tallied her second service ace of the match; State finished the game with six total.
As State slowly built its lead, many members of the red-and-white showed off their skills. By the end of the match, six NC State players notched five or more kills, with freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard leading the team with 10. Sophomore middle blocker Jada Allen led the team with five blocks, followed closely by graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic and sophomore opposite hitter Amanda Rice with four.
The Wolfpack will stay at home for its next match against the Boston College Eagles on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum.
