Aditi Prahlad
The NC State volleyball team celebrates a point during the annual Pink Match against Duke in Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. NC State beat Duke 3-0.
Rocking black jerseys and neon pink sleeves, NC State volleyball emphatically beat Duke in its annual Pink Match. NC State swept the Blue Devils 3-0, winning each set by at least 10 points.
Coming into the game, the Pack (9-5, 4-2 ACC) looked to stay undefeated at home in ACC competition. Just two days earlier, it had a comeback win against UNC-Chapel Hill and looked to continue that momentum against another Tobacco Road rival in Duke (7-10, 3-3 ACC).
Even amid NC State’s fall break, Wolfpack Nation showed up for the Pink Match, an event whose importance goes far beyond the world of sports. The event is in honor of Kay Yow, the school’s first women’s basketball and volleyball coach who passed away due to breast cancer in 2009.
“Tons of people, more than I’ve ever experienced,” said junior middle blocker Sophie Groom. “Seeing everybody come out and support the team, everybody in pink, it was just an awesome sight to see.”
The Pink Match is especially meaningful to two Wolfpack players — graduate setter Naomi Cabello and freshman outside hitter Reis Baune — whose moms both have battled breast cancer and were in attendance cheering them on.
With survivors and fighters in the crowd cheering on the Pack, NC State looked like a well-oiled machine totaling few errors and outscoring the Blue Devils by double digits in every set.
“Everybody was just so locked in,” Groom said. “We were all playing for something so we felt really motivated. Passes were there, sets were amazing and everything just clicked.”
No one was as instrumental to the Pack’s victory as Groom. With 10 kills on 10 attacks, Groom was tied for the team lead in kills and did so perfectly with a hitting percentage of 1.000.
Groom played both sides of the ball well. In the first set she totaled 1.5 of her five total blocks for the match, shutting down the Blue Devil offense repeatedly. She was one of eight different Wolfpack players who had at least one block assist in the match.
Helping out the blockers was NC State’s service game. What has been a continual point of emphasis in practice throughout the season has culminated into a strength for the team. The team had nine aces coming from four different servers.
Senior opposite hitter Amanda Rice once again led the team in points with 15.5, three of which came from service aces. Rice’s three service aces were second on the team behind graduate libero Skye Stokes who led the team with four.
“The hard serves help the blockers, it takes a little pressure off us and gets them out of system a lot more,” Groom said.
The Pack opened every set amassing a large lead and didn’t look back once it did. In the first set, the team started 3-0 which turned into 16-12 which turned into 23-14. In the second and third sets the team went on 6-0 scoring runs multiple times. Once the team got ‘pink hot’ there was nothing the Blue Devils could do to slow its momentum.
This win was crucial for the Wolfpack as its next four games are all on the road against ACC teams. The next home game for the Wolfpack will not be until Nov. 1, when it plays host to the Syracuse Orange.
“It gives us confidence going into our next [few games],” Groom said. “Knowing that we can play like this and do all the things right if we work together we can beat any team in the ACC.”
NC State looks to continue its ACC win streak, traveling to South Bend, Indiana on Oct. 18, to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The match is slated to start at 7:30 p.m.