The Pack bounced back from its loss against Florida State to sweep Miami in three straight sets by the final scores 26-24, 25-22, and 25-22.
“Its always good to win,” coach Bryan Bunn said. “It’s very satisfying. We needed a win before we go on the road. We got four matches coming up when we’re out of town so it’s very good to finish with a win at home. “
In the first set, State jumped out to a 3-0 lead and maintained its momentum throughout the opening set. Miami began to charge back with a 4-0 run, leaving the score at 15-14, but a kill from junior Margaret Salata helped State regain its composure. She also had two other kills in the set and nine for the match. Junior Becah Fogle had five kills in the first set and led all Pack players with ten in the match.
“I think it feels good to have that mentality that we’re working,” junior Luiciana Shafer said. “There was no doubt in our mind. We knew that we were going to win this. I think it’s a good feeling to know that we’re all on the same page. “
State also jumped out to an early lead in the second set. The Pack kept Miami at bay by jumping out to a 13-5 lead, but the Canes made a run at the tail end of the set. They came within one point of State with a 23-22 score, but another kill from Salata, and a bad set from Miami’s Katie Gallagher gave the Pack the set, 25-22.
Sophomore Megan Cyr, who registered 31 assists in the match, said the key to victory was believing the team could win, even when the score became close.
“I think what we really focused on this game was believing that we could win no matter what,” sophomore Megan Cyr said. “If we were down or it was tight, we knew that we were [going to] win. We truly believed that and that helped.”
The third set did not go as smoothly as the opening two sets for State. Miami broke out to a 10-6 lead over the Pack. After coach Bryan Bunn called a timeout, the Pack was back in business as it regained the lead 15-14 on a kill from freshman Brie Merriwether.
Miami held the lead only one more time before another kill from Merriwether pushed the score to 19-17. The Pack never looked back, winning the final set 25-22. The victory moves the team to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.
“Oh it was excellent,” coach Bunn said. “We were up ahead and they made a little run on us and we took care of the ball.”
The next challenge for the Pack will come from the hands of Wake Forest on Friday in Winston-Salem.
