With the ACC volleyball season moving along quickly, NC State volleyball is looking to close out its 2023 schedule with a few wins. The Pack took on Duke in a rivalry showdown on Friday, Oct. 27 and fell in a grueling 2-3 loss.

The Wolfpack (16-6, 6-5 ACC) has historically had a hard time defeating the Blue Devils (15-8, 6-6 ACC), especially on the road. In the over 20-year history between these two teams, the Pack has never defeated Duke in Durham.

Junior opposite hitter Amanda Rice hit a new career-high 27 kills against the Blue Devils, further cementing her legacy with the team.

Rice got the game going for the red-and-white in the first set with back-to-back kills to start off the match. Momentum was traded back and forth between the two teams in the first set, but eventually Duke came out on top, defeating NC State 25-18.

The second set was more favorable for the Pack, with a 5-0 scoring run helping to seal the deal at the end of the set. Sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard notched three aces in the second set alone, providing some consistency that enabled the Wolfpack to grab the set victory. NC State took the second set 25-20, but the win didn't come easy there were 10 scoring ties and three lead changes in the set alone.

Sets three and four were split between the two teams, with Duke taking the third and NC State taking the fourth. Rice and Brizard stayed consistent in the front row alongside the blocking talents of senior middle blocker Riley Shaak.

The fifth and final set is always stressful for any player, and the Pack held its own through the beginning of the set. There were nine scoring ties between the rivals in this set with both sides of the net getting kills down on the court. Junior middle blocker Jada Allen put down a service ace for the Pack, but it wasn't enough to get the momentum going. The red-and-white lost the set 15-13 and the match 2-3.

The Wolfpack can't afford to dwell on this loss for long the team is set to take on another ACC and in-state rival in UNC-Chapel Hill on Sunday, Oct. 29. First serve is set for 4 p.m.

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/wolfpack-volleyball-falls-2-3-to-duke-in-durham/article_73d19ee0-7607-11ee-b6e2-9fe421066f25.html

Huge match versus UNC at 4:00 pm in Chapel Hill today, at Carmichael Arena.

Admission to volleyball at UNC is free, so no ticket is required. And as is the case at NC State on the weekends, parking is free (no permit required) pretty much everywhere on their campus. I'm planning to park on Stadium Drive, and go to the match today.

Another super tough 5 set road loss (3rd one this season) in the match against Duke. This team is so close to really "turning the corner" and having a breakout year in the ACC. They can still have a great season if they close out the season strong. Should be significant favorites in the 7 ACC matches remaining on the schedule, and would finish 13-5 in the league if they win out (which I think is quite possible). The match today against UNC will be critical for the momentum needed to do that, and is the toughest of the 7 matches left on the schedule. UNC is only 4-7 in the ACC right now, so this game is very winnable.

I don't know the full series history of NC State vs UNC, but from GoPack we are 4-39 versus UNC since 1999 and have zero wins versus them in Chapel Hill over that period. Unreal. But I think we get it done today, and will be there to potentially witness history.

Set 1
NC State wins
25-21

Set 2
NC State wins
25-20

NC State leads match 2-0

Set 3
unc-ch wins
25-23

NC State leads match 2-1

Set 4 (edit)
NC State wins
25-23

NC State wins match 3-1

Got 'em. First win in chapel hill in at least 24 years, probably much longer.

Amanda Rice is on fire! Right now she is "smoking hot" on two different fronts.

Way to go ladies!

First win in 35 years against UNC in Chapel Hill.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/10/29/womens-volleyball-wolfpack-defeats-unc-in-four-in-chapel-hill

Quote:

---

CHAPEL HILL. N.C. For the first time in 35 years, the Wolfpack volleyball program (17-6, 7-5) defeated UNC (10-11, 4-8) in Chapel Hill, 3-1. The Pack also ended the Tar Heels five-match winning streak in the series.

---

GuerrillaPack said:

---

First win in 35 years against UNC in Chapel Hill.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/10/29/womens-volleyball-wolfpack-defeats-unc-in-four-in-chapel-hill

Quote:

---

CHAPEL HILL. N.C. For the first time in 35 years, the Wolfpack volleyball program (17-6, 7-5) defeated UNC (10-11, 4-8) in Chapel Hill, 3-1. The Pack also ended the Tar Heels five-match winning streak in the series.

---

---

Based on gopack it was the first win ever in Chapel Hill

packfan1221 said:

---

Based on gopack it was the first win ever in Chapel Hill

---

Coach Slabe said right after the match to the team that it was the 1st win ever in Chapel Hill, at the end of this clip:

https://instagr.am/p/CzACeJBMBWW


ACC Volleyball began in 1980. NC State's only ACC Championship title in volleyball came in 1987, 36 years ago. So perhaps we beat unc in 1987. No idea if we beat them in Chapel Hill that year. With Gopack saying it's been 35 years, i guess that means we last beat them in Chapel Hill the following year in 1988.

On the positive side in series history, we're now 3-7 versus them in the last 10 meetings, which doesn't sound great at first, but is a big improvement compared to a 2-32 record over the 34 meetings prior to that.

GuerrillaPack said:

---

packfan1221 said:

---

Based on gopack it was the first win ever in Chapel Hill

---

Coach Slabe said right after the match to the team that it was the 1st win ever in Chapel Hill, at the end of this clip:

https://instagr.am/p/CzACeJBMBWW


ACC Volleyball began in 1980. NC State's only ACC Championship title in volleyball came in 1987, 36 years ago. So perhaps we beat unc in 1987. No idea if we beat them in Chapel Hill that year. With Gopack saying it's been 35 years, i guess that means we last beat them in Chapel Hill the following year in 1988.

On the positive side in series history, we're now 3-7 versus them in the last 10 meetings, which doesn't sound great at first, but is a big improvement compared to a 2-32 record over the 34 meetings prior to that.

---

Yes I'm seeing conflicting stuff. GoPack has us only winning 1 game in Chapel Hill so it's weird. All I know is that it was fantastic sitting press row for this one. It was awesome.

To cap off a busy weekend for NC State volleyball, the Wolfpack played its second away game against an in-state rival on Sunday, Oct. 29, defeating the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels 3-1. Sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard and junior opposite hitter Amanda Rice dominated in the afternoon matchup, with both athletes hitting over 15 kills.
The Wolfpack (17-6, 7-5 ACC) took on the Tar Heels (10-11, 4-8 ACC) in Chapel Hill, and visitors didn't let Carolina's home-court advantage get to them. From the beginning of the matchup, the Pack was all over the net and back court, totalling 21 block assists and 54 digs by the end of four sets.
The first set started off strong for the red-and-white the team took a quick 5-0 lead without breaking a sweat. Junior middle blocker Jada Allen notched two of her five total kills off those points.

UNC was able to catch back up to the Pack and keep the game close for a while, but defensive specialist Skye Stokes brought the momentum back. Her two service aces towards the end of the first set gave the Wolfpack all the energy it needed to finish the set off 25-21.
After the Tar Heels jumped out to a quick lead in the second set, NC State needed a hero to step up and bring the score back into its favor. Both Brizard and Rice took on that challenge, notching eight kills and a service ace to empower the Wolfpack's 25-20 set victory.

While the front row was dominating on offense, it was also stifling on defense. Junior outside hitter Martyna Leoniak totalled six block assists through the matchup and senior middle blocker Riley Shaak followed close behind with five. Brizard recorded the only solo block at the net.

The Tar Heels took back the momentum in the third set, winning a grueling 25-23 battle. While the score might look like it was a back-and-forth type of set, in reality the Wolfpack was playing catch-up for all 25 points. NC State totaled five service errors during this set alone, providing easy points for UNC to cash in on.

The fourth and final set was a back-and-forth game, with neither team wanting to give up their lead. By the end of the set, there were 14 ties and seven lead changes, but the Pack eventually came up on top. Brizard, Rice and Leoniak played great volleyball during this set, each tallying multiple kills.

NC State will head back home to Raleigh for its next pair of games, where it will take on Boston College and Syracuse. The matchup against the Eagles is set for Friday, Nov. 3 with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/nc-state-volleyball-downs-tar-heels-3-1-in-chapel-hill/article_83acaf18-76b5-11ee-a9d1-7b99e2cc5e47.html

packfan1221 said:

---

Yes I'm seeing conflicting stuff. GoPack has us only winning 1 game in Chapel Hill so it's weird. All I know is that it was fantastic sitting press row for this one. It was awesome.

---

So glad I went as well. I love college volleyball as a sport in general, and seeing the Wolfpack beat the holes in anything is sweet...and this particular win, super sweet for the history involved.

Are you talking about their "History" page, showing us currently (after yesterday's match) as 1-19 in away games vs UNC? That history only goes back to October of 1999.

Also, the GoPack article on the match was edited after I posted it. It originally said it was the first win in Chapel Hill in 35 years. Now it's been edited to say 25 years.

Would be nice if GoPack could just post the entire series history.

Been a long time coming🥹#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/aD3MHHcRr1

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) October 29, 2023

GuerrillaPack said:

---

packfan1221 said:

---

Yes I'm seeing conflicting stuff. GoPack has us only winning 1 game in Chapel Hill so it's weird. All I know is that it was fantastic sitting press row for this one. It was awesome.

---

So glad I went as well. I love college volleyball as a sport in general, and seeing the Wolfpack beat the holes in anything is sweet...and this particular win, super sweet for the history involved.

Are you talking about their "History" page, showing us currently (after yesterday's match) as 1-19 in away games vs UNC? That history only goes back to October of 1999.

Also, the GoPack article on the match was edited after I posted it. It originally said it was the first win in Chapel Hill in 35 years. Now it's been edited to say 25 years.

Would be nice if GoPack could just post the entire series history.

---

Maybe some of the older fans here will be able to help out but I think they may be our only ever win in Chapel Hill.

Here's my write up as well in case anyway wants to provide any feedback for me. I'd greatly appreciate any with me being so new to this. I am pumped about the 2 games this weekend as well.


https://greenvillesportsmedia.com/2023/10/30/wolfpack-split-tobacco-road-matches-earn-historic-win-at-unc/

OK, I found the answer. On the Goheels site, you can search all their seasons with results/scores in volleyball. Prior to yesterday, the last time NC State beat UNC in Chapel Hill was on October 28, 1997, winning 3-2 in 5 sets.

https://goheels.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule/1997

Made ourselves at home🏡 #TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/Z5j2Plw8UW

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) October 30, 2023

Wolfpack volleyball player Amanda Rice earned Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference office Monday afternoon.

The junior opposite had a career weekend for the Pack as she set a new career high in kills and recorded back-to-back 20+ kill matches. She is the first person since Melissa Evans (2021 season) to record back-to-back 20+ kill matches

In the 3-2 loss at Duke, Rice recorded 27 kills on 50 attempts to finish hitting .440. Her kills total was the most in a five set match by a member of the Wolfpack since 2012 when Julie Brown recorded 31 against Syracuse.

She also led the team in the win over UNC with 20 kills. She finished the match with 33 attempts and hitting .455 on the evening.

She finished the weekend with 47 kills on 83 attempts to hit .446 between the two matches. She also added eight digs and six blocks to the stat line, while averaging 5.22 kills per set.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/10/30/womens-volleyball-rice-earns-acc-offensive-player-of-the-week

GuerrillaPack said:

---

OK, I found the answer. On the Goheels site, you can search all their seasons with results/scores in volleyball. Prior to yesterday, the last time NC State beat UNC in Chapel Hill was on October 28, 1997, winning 3-2 in 5 sets.

https://goheels.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule/1997

---

Thank you my good friend!!

Some random observations and a little bit of a rant....

So I've been to about 5 home matches in Reynolds so far this year and went to the away matches at D-yoo-ke (hilarious how that's how Duke fans pronounce it) and unc this past weekend. The atmosphere at Reynolds is the best by far, then unc, and then Duke -- in terms of fan attendance, crowd energy/atmosphere, the "production" level from the music/etc.

First off, huge difference in the music at Duke compared to NC State and unc. At Cameron, they were BLASTING the most obnoxious and terrible modern rap or hip hop music 99.9% of the ~3 hours of match time (outside of when play was going on) at near ear-bursting level of decibels. I'm not exaggerating at all...literally NON-stop (99% of time when play not going on), loud as hell, and no other genre of music...ONLY the most horrible modern type of rap. I had a headache after the match, no doubt from how incredibly loud it was. And I'm not some elderly person who can't handle something just a little bit loud, or doesn't like any rap or hip hop. I'm pretty young. The decibel level was INSANE. And while I'm not a fan of rap or hip hop, I can appreciate and do like some of the more "old school" (90s, 00s era). But they only played the worst stuff. At least at Reynolds and unc, they throw in some other genres of music, and don't blow your eardrums out with it.

Wolfpack fans definitely support their volleyball program the best -- as proven by even the "official" attendance numbers reported. If we would have played unc or duke in Reynolds this past weekend, I'm sure there would have been around 3,000 fans in attendance, with 90% of those being Wolfpack fans. We had a crowd of 2,964 for the match against UNC in Reynolds last season. The level of unc and duke fans at the matches versus NC State was pretty lame (around 700/800), and with NC State fans making up about one third of the fans in attendance at both matches. The goheels site says there were 2,205 fans in Carmichael for the unc match against NC State this past Sunday, but IMO that's pretty obviously inflated. There are no tickets for unc volleyball, and they were not counting people as they came in...so it was no doubt just some "estimate" of the crowd to come up with 2,205. I was there, and I would estimate the crowd at around 1,200, with 400 of those being Wolfpack fans. Also, unc and dook had no discernable student sections in their crowds at both matches...while at the Wolfpack home matches there are usually visually obvious student sections, that are loud, chanting, etc...especially for the big matches.

But I find it peculiar that unc and duke have way more followers on their official volleyball Instagram accounts than NC State (72k Duke, 64k unc, 21k NC State). So they supposedly have "3 times" as many fans as us in volleyball, and yet we have way more fans than both of those schools actually showing up to our respective home matches? I've noticed this disparity in other sports at unc with their official Instagram accounts (such as wrestling) -- where it does not correlate with the level of fans that actually show up to games, and also where the supposed number of "followers" does not match up with activity/engagement related to posts (comments and likes), when compared to the number of followers and account activity on NC State official accounts.

For example, the number of likes and comments on posts on NC State's volleyball Instagram account is about the same (or slightly more, lately) than those on the Duke and UNC volleyball accounts, despite them supposedly having 3 times the number of "followers". It wouldn't shock me if the UNC sports media department is using some sites to buy fake "followers" for their accounts. For instance, I watched how the unc track and field & XC Instagram account was almost even to NC State's in number of followers about a year ago (maybe only 1 or 2 thousand more) and then shot way up in a suspicious manner starting about a year ago (currently 7k more than us). It's like UNC was pissed that we re-peated as women's XC national champions, and decided to bump up their followers on their T&F/XC account as a way to compensate.

I'll say this and I totally agree with you on all these things. State fans definitely show up and that's why I enjoy covering them so much. I have had a blast working with the volleyball team more than I ever thought I would. The coaching staff and players are super excited and they are really really close to being elite level. As DJ Burns would say, bring out the whole family this weekend!! They are very exciting to watch.

packfan1221 said:

---

I'll say this and I totally agree with you on all these things. State fans definitely show up and that's why I enjoy covering them so much. I have had a blast working with the volleyball team more than I ever thought I would. The coaching staff and players are super excited and they are really really close to being elite level. As DJ Burns would say, bring out the whole family this weekend!! They are very exciting to watch.

---

100%. I've said this a few times before in these forums and this thread, but for the first ~17 years in my ~20 years of being an NC State fan I mainly only followed football and men's BB (going to ~15-20 Wolfpack football games over the years, watching 95% of all FB and men's BB games), and I totally ignored volleyball and all other "non-revenue" sports for the entire time. I just started following volleyball and going to matches last year, and wrestling and women's tennis 3 years ago. Now volleyball is in my top 3 of Wolfpack sports to follow and attend in person (along with wrestling and women's tennis). I absolutely love women's college volleyball as a sport, and enjoy watching it even if NC State is not involved, especially on TV in the NCAA tournament. It's fast-paced action and excitement with every single point, every minute of the match. The "eye candy" aspect is a big plus as well, lol.

If you can divulge, in what capacity are you working with the team?

GuerrillaPack said:

---

packfan1221 said:

---

I'll say this and I totally agree with you on all these things. State fans definitely show up and that's why I enjoy covering them so much. I have had a blast working with the volleyball team more than I ever thought I would. The coaching staff and players are super excited and they are really really close to being elite level. As DJ Burns would say, bring out the whole family this weekend!! They are very exciting to watch.

---

100%. I've said this a few times before in these forums and this thread, but for the first ~17 years in my ~20 years of being an NC State fan I mainly only followed football and men's BB (going to ~15-20 Wolfpack football games over the years, watching 95% of all FB and men's BB games), and I totally ignored volleyball and all other "non-revenue" sports for the entire time. I just started following volleyball and going to matches last year, and wrestling and women's tennis 3 years ago. Now volleyball is in my top 3 of Wolfpack sports to follow and attend in person (along with wrestling and women's tennis). I absolutely love women's college volleyball as a sport, and enjoy watching it even if NC State is not involved, especially on TV in the NCAA tournament. It's fast-paced action and excitement with every single point, every minute of the match. The "eye candy" aspect is a big plus as well, lol.

If you can divulge, in what capacity are you working with the team?

---

Just providing media coverage for them now. I started going to the games starting with VT and then haven't missed a home match since. Went to Duke and UNC as well. We are doing pre game video and then post game interviews with the coaches and players. I also write a game article as well. They athletes and coaches are very fun to get to know. I also enjoy being Courtside !

packfan1221 said:

---

Just providing media coverage for them now. I started going to the games starting with VT and then haven't missed a home match since. Went to Duke and UNC as well. We are doing pre game video and then post game interviews with the coaches and players. I also write a game article as well. They athletes and coaches are very fun to get to know. I also enjoy being Courtside !

---

That's awesome...I haven't seen a whole lot of post-match interviews (video) with coaches and players from other media, and would love to see more of that. Please share your content.

Entire match vs unc

The NC State volleyball team will return to Reynolds Coliseum to host Boston College on Friday Nov. 3 and Syracuse on Sunday Nov. 5 for week seven of ACC play. Friday's meeting with the Eagles will begin at 7pm on ACCNX and Sunday's match with the Orange will start at 1pm, also on ACCNX.

The Match Up

• The Eagles will visit Reynolds Coliseum having won the last meeting, 3-2, in Raleigh
• NC State holds a 14-12 advantage over Boston College and hold an 8-6 record when playing in Reynolds Coliseum
• The Orange will visit Raleigh trailing the Pack 9-4 in series history
• The Wolfpack have only lost to the Orange twice (2021 and 2019) in the 10-year series history

https://gopack.com/news/2023/10/31/womens-volleyball-pack-returns-to-reynolds-to-host-eagles-and-orange

Need you to be LOUD tonight #WPN🐺

🆚 Boston College
📍 Reynolds Coliseum
⏰ 7pm EST
🖥️ ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/xy6CD6FLYF
🎟️ https://t.co/T1MwY1RyHD pic.twitter.com/R9Xk0L4ogo

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) November 3, 2023

The NC State volleyball team fell to Boston College, 3-2, Friday evening in Reynolds Coliseum.

The Pack (17-7, 7-6) had a strong showing in the first two sets, going on multiple scoring runs. At the conclusion of the first set, junior opposite Amanda Rice tallied eight kills and was hitting .500 on the evening.

The Eagles (16-12, 5-9) found momentum in the third, maintaining the lead throughout the set. The Wolfpack attempted to rally at the end of the set, but fell short and the Eagles gained their first set win of the evening.

Head coach Luka Slabe was forced to use an early timeout in the fourth as the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to open the frame. The Pack took its first lead of the set, 10-9, but the Eagles took the next point to tie things 10-all. From there it was a back and forth battle, with neither team leading by more than two points at a time. Boston College took the fourth set 25-23, forcing a fifth set.

The Eagles went on a 10-3 run to open the final set, forcing NC State to use both its timeouts sooner than expected. The Pack went on to score four more points before the Eagles finished the evening with a reverse sweep over the Pack, taking set five 15-7.

Sophomore Ava Brizard led the Pack with 21 kills, while Rice added 20 to mark her third straight 20+ kill match. Fifth year setter Kristen McDaniel led the setters with 29 assists, and added two kills to her stat line. Senior middle blocker Riley Shaak led the defensive efforts with four blocks and sits one block away from hitting 300 on her career. Senior libero Skye Stokes totaled 20 digs for the Pack and added a service ace to the books.

The Pack returns to Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday Nov. 5 to host Syracuse at 1pm on ACCNX.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/11/3/womens-volleyball-pack-falls-to-eagles-in-five

25-22
25-22
22-25
23-25
7-15

𝘼𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙣𝙞 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩🐺

Amongst the group, we had members of the: inaugural 1975 team, 1987 ACC Championship Team, 1987 ACC tournament MVP & Player of the Year, the 3rd head coach in program history, and the 2017 team that recorded the first NCAA Tournament win! pic.twitter.com/FowuKfRoCV

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) November 4, 2023

Weekend meeting.

🆚 Syracuse
📍 Reynolds Coliseum
⏰ 1pm EST
🖥️ ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/7gtgtTgF3S
🎟️ https://t.co/T1MwY1RyHD pic.twitter.com/he6XXWSOCY

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) November 5, 2023

Set 1
NC State wins
25-15

Set 2
NC State wins
25-20

NC State leads match 2-0