RALEIGH – On September 24, the NC State Wolfpack volleyball team took on the likely ranked no. 27 Fighting Irish from Notre Dame. This nail biter game was played in Reynolds Coliseum at NC State’s Campus. The two teams battled hard with the Wolfpack coming out on top in a five set game (3-2: 25-17, 19-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-21, 15-7). This brings NC State to a winning record of 7-6 with a 2-0 record in ACC play.
The Pack was the powerhouse in all aspects of the game. Having the most points overall (82.5- 67.5) is a clear path to victory. In addition to overall points the Pack led with 18.5 blocks, 94 digs, 18.4% hitting, and 62 kills. Even though the Wolfpack had the lead in stats, it was not always a clear path to victory.
The Wolfpack began with a great start in the first set with a 25-17 victory over the Irish. The Wolfpack had a lead in the majority of the set which fueled them to take the win overall. Teni Sopitan, Melissa Evans, and Julia Brown scored most of the points within this set with blocks and spikes in order to overcome the Irish.
NC State was ahead in the second set until Notre Dame took the lead 8-7. They kept this lead to beat the Wolfpack 25-19. This loss did not defeat the spirit of the Wolfpack who battled back and forth to break a 9 point tie-streak and came back to win the third set 25-16.
The fourth set resulted in a close loss of 25-21 leaving the NC State Wolfpack and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a 2-2 set score, leaving the fifth set to decide the match. The team rallied around each other enough to lead the fifth set from the start, ending in a 15-7 win for the Wolfpack.
The amazing win would not have been possible without the lead scorers that include Sopitan (18pts), Evans (18.5 pts), and Brown (16pts). They were assisted with these points by Pickrell giving them 156 sets with 56 assists.
With a win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the season looks promising for the NC State Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack will be back in action on September 29th playing Georgia Tech in the O’Keefe Gym. You can watch them play on the ACC Network at 7p.m