NC State Women’s Volleyball started the 2015 season off with a bang this weekend, going 3-0 in the Gamecock Invitational.  After defeating North Carolina defeating North Carolina Central with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) sweep against the North Carolina Central Eagles on Friday afternoon, the Wolfpack went on to defeat Southeastern Louisiana and host South Carolina to sweep the tournament.

Southeastern Louisiana Recap

The Wolfpack defeated the Lions in three straight set, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19).

Match Notes
– NC State finished the match with an attacking percentage of .311, while limiting Southeastern Louisiana to a -.057 clip. The Wolfpack forced the Lions to commit more errors (22) than kills (18) for the match.
– Saturday morning’s clash was the first meeting in the history of the two programs.
– The Wolfpack is now 2-0 in the Gamecock Invitational and will play South Carolina in the championship match tonight at 7p.m.
Match Rewind
– NC State struggled early in the first set, as Southeastern Louisiana raced out to an 11-6 advantage forcing the Wolfpack to call a timeout. Following the break in play, NC State fought back to even the score at 16.
– Tied 16-16, the Pack pulled away from the Lions with a 9-1 run to win the frame, 25-17, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
– Freshman Blayke Hranicka had a great first set for the Wolfpack, tallying a kill on all four of her swings in the frame.
– In the second set, NC State jumped out to a 7-2 advantage thanks to some strong serving from sophomore Perry Ramsey. After Southeastern Louisiana trimmed the Wolfpack lead to four, 11-7, NC State scored three unanswered points forcing the Lions to call a timeout.
– A kill by Ramsey put the finishing touches on the frame, as the Wolfpack won it, 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
– After Southeastern Louisiana scored the first point in the third set, NC State reeled off seven consecutive points and never trailed again nor was the score tied en route to a 25-19 set win to claim the match, 3-0.
Top Performers
– For the second consecutive match, sophomore Julia Brown led the Wolfpack offensively with nine kills and a .389 attacking percentage.
– Ramsey chipped in with seven, while Hranicka also had seven kills to go along with an .875 hitting percentage.
– Junior Maggie Speaks tallied a match-high 32 assists from her setter position and also recorded five blocks and three kills.
– Defensively, sophomore Kaitlyn Kearney recorded a match-high seven blocks. Senior Morgan Cormier and sophomore Emily Harris contributed six digs each.

South Carolina Recap

The Wolfpack defeated South Carolina in three straight sets, 3-0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-14).
Bunn’s Beat
Opening statement…
“It’s good to be 3-0,” said head coach Bryan Bunn. “We had a good match tonight against a tough opponent on their home court. It was a really nice environment; they had about 1,500 people there.
“It was really nice to go in there and play well this weekend.”
On the turning point in the match…
“Winning that first set was huge, because it gave us a lot of momentum. We served really tough and got them out of system a lot more in the second and third sets, forcing them to make more errors.”
On the performance of tournament MVP Julia Brown…
“She played really well this weekend. She got off to a slow start against NCCU, but she played fantastic this morning and followed that up with another strong performance tonight.”
Match Notes
– NC State handed South Carolina its first home tournament loss under current head coach Kevin Swanson. The Gamecocks were 25-0 heading into the match.
– The Wolfpack and Gamecocks met on the volleyball court for the first time since 1997 and it was the Pack’s first win in the series since 1991. NC State now leads 14-12 in the all-time series.
– Sophomore Julia Brown was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Gamecock Invitational and junior Maggie Speaks also garnered a spot on the all-tournament team.
– Morgan Cormier, a senior from Carlsbad, Calif., recorded her first career double-double in the match with 11 kills and 10 digs. It was also the first double-double performance of the season for NC State.
Match Rewind
– NC State got off to a great start in the match, jumping out to a 9-4 lead in the first set resulting in a timeout by South Carolina.
– The Wolfpack held the upper hand throughout most of the first set, but the Gamecocks did not go down easy as they fought off match point four times before NC State was able to capitalize and win the first set, 27-25.
– Senior Morgan Cormier had a fantastic first set, recording a kill on all six of her swings.
– With the score tied at 11 in the second set, the Pack reeled off seven unanswered points forcing South Carolina to use a timeout. Fortunately for NC State, the break was unable to interrupt any rhythm as the squad went on to win the frame, 25-16.
– Brown paced the Pack in the second set with four kills and a .571 attacking percentage.
– In the third set, the score was tied eight different times but the lead only changed once. South Carolina led early in the frame, but a kill by Cormier put the Wolfpack ahead, 7-6, and the squad never relinquished the advantage.
– A 6-0 run by NC State broke an 11-11 tie, as the Pack pulled ahead for good. The Wolfpack scored four answered points to end the set, highlighted by a service ace by freshman Blayke Hranicka to give NC State the 25-14 third set win and 3-0 win in the match.
Top Performers
– Cormier had a phenomenal match for the Wolfpack, tallying a match-high 11 kills to go along with a .526 attacking percentage. The Carlsbad, Calif., native recorded a kill on more than half of her swings (19 attempts) and only made one error.
– Brown smacked nine kills in the match, while sophomores Kaitlyn Kearney and Perry Ramsey each tallied six.
– At the setter position, Speaks continued to have success dishing out a match-high 33 assists. She also had seven digs and six kills.
– Defensively, Cormier had 10 digs as well as freshman libero Kassie Kasper.
Up Next
NC State will return to action on Friday, Sept. 4 when it hosts the Hilton Garden Inn Cary Classic in Carmichael Gym. The Wolfpack will play Ole Miss in its first match of the tournament on Friday at 7 p.m.