With the help of an electric crowd, NC State volleyball was able to take down Duke, 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 26-24) for its third consecutive home Atlantic Coast Conference win on Sunday evening in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Pack (12-9, 6-4 ACC) wrapped up its October home slate unblemished (3-0), including winning all nine sets played at Reynolds Coliseum in the month.
Junior Kristen McDaniel led the Pack with her second consecutive, and team-leading sixth double double of the year as she recorded 13 assists and 11 digs. Additionally, the setter posted a match-best three service aces, tying her career high.
Senior Jade Parchment racked up a game-high 12 kills with four digs while graduate student Melissa Evans followed behind with 11 kills on .360 hitting with a season-high four blocks. Freshman Maggie Jones tossed a game-high 18 assists while junior Taylor Rowland paced the defense with a match-best 16 digs, tying her career high, and libero Kaylee Frazier added 14 digs.
NC State's defense stepped up big time as the team recorded a season-high seven team blocks with sophomore Riley Shaak leading the way with five blocks. The Pack recorded eight service aces in the match, the highest total this season.
Set One (NC State 26, Duke 24)
The Pack began the match on fire, jumping out to a quick 3-0 run capped off by an ace from Rowland. Duke (12-9, 3-7 ACC) responded with a quick 4-0 run to take the lead. The middle of the set was close until Duke reeled off another 4-0 run to take a commanding 20-16 lead which forced NC State to use both of its timeouts. The Pack fought hard to tie the game at 24-all before Rowland sealed the deal with back-to-back kills.
Set Two (NC State 25, Duke 20)
Neither team could control a lead early in the set until NC State caught fire by going on a 5-0 run to take a 10-5 lead that it would not relinquish. McDaniel had a stellar second set as she recorded seven assists and all three of her aces while getting two digs. McDaniel had more aces than Duke as a team (3-2) in the set.
Set Three (NC State 26, Duke 24)
The final set seemed to be all Duke as the Blue Devils held a solid lead throughout the middle and end of the set. The Pack never gave up hope, battling back from a 19-15 deficit to tie the score at 20. Duke answered with a charge, eventually getting to set point at 24-21. Trying to earn the sweep, Parchment and Evans tallied kills to force Duke to use a timeout with a tight 24-23 lead. Coming out of the timeout, the Blue Devils recorded an attacking error that made all 1,195 fans stand to their feet. Evans recorded another kill before an error by Duke allowed NC State to cap off a 5-0 run at the end of the game to complete the sweep.
Up Next
NC State will hit the road for the weekend, taking on Clemson and Georgia Tech on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
https://gopack.com/news/2021/10/24/womens-volleyball-volleyball-earns-hard-fought-sweep-over-duke.aspx