HISTORY! NC State Earns First NCAA Victory

Wolfpack advances to second round of the NCAA Tournament for first time in program history.

AUSTIN, Texas – For the first time in the history of the program, NC State volleyball is heading to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the Wolfpack battled to earn a 3-2 victory against Oregon State Friday evening inside Gregory Gym.

NC State closed out the match by winning eight of the final 11 rallies to record the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory. The Wolfpack grabbed a 2-1 lead in the match before the Beavers rallied to force a fifth set.

The Wolfpack moves to 21-11 on the year, while the Beavers, which entered the match receiving 11 votes for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll, concludes the year at 21-12.

Worth Noting

– In its third trip to the NCAA Tournament and second consecutive trip to Austin, Texas, the Wolfpack earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament win.

– The Wolfpack broke the program record for kills (73), assists (70), attacking percentage (.235), digs (105) and blocks (11) for an NCAA Tournament match in the contest.

– NC State’s 105 digs are the second most in the rally-scoring era of the program, just one shy of the mark of 106 achieved at Notre Dame.

– Bree Bailey also set the program mark for kills by an individual in an NCAA Tournament match with 22, while Julia Brown contributed 19 to own the second most.

Quoting Hampton-Keith

Overall thoughts…

“We’re just excited to be playing another day,” said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “And what a great first-round matchup. It’s a shame that someone had to bow out in the first round, because that was an awesome match.

“It was well played and I thought well coached from their end for sure, and it was really a fun match to be a part of. And so that’s too bad that one team has to go home. That sucks. But I’m really happy that it’s us moving on.”

Top Performers

– Bailey’s 22 kills led all players in the contest, while Brown’s 19 kills were tied for the second most.

– Freshman Melissa Evans also turned in a strong offensive performance with 15 kills complemented by a .387 attacking percentage.

– At setter, Kylie Pickrell dished out a match-high 62 assists and collected 21 digs to record her 12th double-double.

– Defensively, five Wolfpack players tallied double figure digs headlined by libero Emily Harris with 22 and defensive specialist Makenzie Kuchmaner added 21.

– Kassie Kasper logged 16 digs and Brown collected 14 to record her 14th double-double.

Up Next

NC State will play Texas at 8 p.m. EST Saturday evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament inside Gregory Gym. The match will be broadcast live on the Longhorn Network and Watch ESPN, if your television package includes the network.