set 5
NC State wins
16-14
NC State wins match 3-2

NEVER DOUBT THE PACK pic.twitter.com/CdO1eouwEn

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 27, 2023

The NC State volleyball team rallied back after being down 2-0 to defeat Utah Valley, 3-2, in the final match of the Utah Valley Invitational.

Junior middle blocker Jada Allen was hot on both sides of the ball as she finished with nine kills and three blocks.

The Pack struggled to gain a lead in the first two sets, but came out hot in set three. Junior Amanda Rice helped give the Pack momentum with back-to-back kills. NC State took set three 25-19.

The fourth set proved to be a battle as the Wolverines hoped to end things, but were unable to get past the Pack. Allen recorded several kills to help increase the lead for the Wolfpack. NC State forced a fifth set after a service ace from libero Sydney Daniels gave the Pack set four, tying it two all.

The Wolfpack took an early lead in the fifth set but the Wolverines tied things 11 all. The Wolfpack took back-to-back points to end the match.

Sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard led the team with 15 kills and redshirt-junior Madison Williams added 14. Senior Riley Shaak led the defensive efforts with five blocks while fifth year Kristen McDaniel totaled eight digs. McDaniel led the Wolfpack setters with 28 assists.

Brizard, Rice, and Allen all made the All-Tournament team, with Brizard earning tournament MVP.

NEXT UP
The Pack returns to Raleigh to host the Summit Hospitality Group Open. Play begins on Thursday Aug. 31 against Howard.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/8/26/womens-volleyball-pack-rallies-back-to-defeat-uvu-3-2

Utah Valley Invitational All-Tournament Team:

Ava Brizard, MVP
Jada Allen
Amanda Rice#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/xtMF6kagry

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 27, 2023

A look at match point😱

After trailing 2-0, the Pack rallied back to take home the W!#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/tpWCn7GyNM

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 27, 2023

Recap
Wolfpack volleyball captures victory in last match of Utah Valley Invitational

The Pack overtook Utah Valley in attacks, service aces and kills, giving it a slight offensive advantage, especially in the latter three sets. Rice stood out in this match, establishing herself as a key player both offensively and defensively. She led the team in service aces and tied with sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard for most points, while her blocks proved to be useful in the third and fourth sets.

NC State will return to Raleigh for its first home game of the season to face off with Howard at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31.

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/wolfpack-volleyball-captures-victory-in-last-match-of-utah-valley-invitational/article_c2b82060-44e3-11ee-b14e-bf1959dabf71.html

John Cook has been the head volleyball coach at Nebraska for 23 years.

He has won 4 national titles, made 22 NCAA Regionals, and won 650+ matches.

Yet, he’s probably never done the Tunnel Walk.

And the smile on his face shows how special tonight is. pic.twitter.com/r1dPLOkLWK

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) August 31, 2023

A day we’ll never forget.⁰
Be proud Husker Nation, we just did that.

Good night and Go Big Red. pic.twitter.com/AtDGH7dpdc

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) August 31, 2023

𝙉𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙨🫶

🆚 Howard
📍 Reynolds Coliseum
⏰ 6pm
🖥️ ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/Wr0xT2GZI8
📰 https://t.co/ahqIRW6qLS
🎟️ https://t.co/cjJk93Pf6s pic.twitter.com/tRyV5EQv9V

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 31, 2023

set 1
NC State wins
25-20

set 2
Howard wins
27-25
match tied 1-1

set 3
NC State wins
25-16
NC State leads match 2-1

She can do it ALL.

Nae with the set and block on this rally! pic.twitter.com/luLxz4LY4E

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 31, 2023

Sheesh Nae 👀#NCAAWVB x 🎥 @PackVball pic.twitter.com/2uN4YE64Uy

— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) August 31, 2023

set 4
NC State wins
25-19
NC State wins match 3-1

Final from Reynolds😎 pic.twitter.com/2AdcufcCFD

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 1, 2023

So good we have to share a different angle🫢 https://t.co/7r3aj1WtmP pic.twitter.com/1XxL2wGAm4

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 1, 2023

A look at match point⬇️ https://t.co/4GrXzEd0HA pic.twitter.com/VHmLE1PVbC

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 1, 2023

The NC State volleyball team defeated Howard, 3-1, in the second match of the Summit Hospitality Group Open. The win marked the third home opener win for the Pack under head coach Luka Slabe.

After a slow start, the Pack went on a 3-0 run to take the lead 17-14 in set one. The Bison attempted to regain the lead, but NC State went on a 5-3 scoring run at the end to take set one 25-20.

After Howard took set two, NC State came out hot in set three. After starting with a 5-1 lead, Howard took a timeout and NC State never looked back. The Pack continued to dominate on both sides of the ball, forcing the Bison to commit 11 errors. Junior middle blocker Jada Allen paced the Pack in the third set as she recorded four kills and three blocks. She finished the evening with 11 kills and one block short of a double-double (9). She also finished the evening with a .500 hitting percentage.

Sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard led the Wolfpack in set four with seven kills. She recorded her first double double of the season as she finished with 17 kills and 20 digs.

Junior opposite Amanda Rice added 13 kills and six blocks for the Pack. Graduate setter Kristen McDaniel led the setters with 28 assists and added three service aces to the stat line.

NEXT UP
The Pack returns to Reynolds on Friday Sept. 1 to take on Rutgers in game four of the Summit Hospitality Group Open. First serve is set for 6pm on ACCNX.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/8/31/womens-volleyball-allen-brizard-rice-dominate-against-bison

𝘈𝘊𝘊, 𝘉𝘪𝘨 10 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 ...

🆚 Rutgers
📍 Reynolds Coliseum
⏰ 6pm ET
🖥️ ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/pDAe9XIWO6
🎟️ https://t.co/dP3lX9r7UJ pic.twitter.com/N2aQiO1QFO

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 1, 2023

Recap
Wolfpack volleyball defeats Howard in electric home opener

While the Pack's offense was dominating at the net, its defense was also getting the job done. The team finished the match leading in both blocks with 12 and digs with 67.

Brizard led the team with her 19 digs and senior defensive specialist Skye Stokes was close behind her, tallying 16. Allen led the game with nine total blocks and teammate Rice was in second place with six.

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/wolfpack-volleyball-defeats-howard-in-electric-home-opener/article_a7692a58-48d4-11ee-8247-a7c431ec3f88.html

set 1
Rutgers wins
25-23

set 2
NC State wins
25-21

match tied 1-1

Jada making her presence known💪 pic.twitter.com/c9Ci6VpIE7

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 1, 2023

Keepin' the ball in play no matter what🤷 pic.twitter.com/MZkE4DDhab

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 1, 2023

set 3
Rutgers wins
25-20

Rutgers leads match 2-1

set 4
NC State wins
25-23

match tied 2-2

set 5
NC State wins
15-12
NC State wins match 3-2

Recap

NC State volleyball keeps win streak alive against Rutgers

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/nc-state-volleyball-keeps-win-streak-alive-against-rutgers/article_c59972e4-493d-11ee-ae21-9b6e4077629b.html

The Pack will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 2 when it returns to Reynolds Coliseum to take on the Winthrop Eagles at 5 p.m.

The atmosphere tonight was 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘊⚡️
#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/FrakFE2JzB

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 2, 2023

𝘔𝘈𝘛𝘊𝘏 𝘋𝘈𝘠 𝘔𝘈𝘛𝘊𝘏 𝘋𝘈𝘠 𝘔𝘈𝘛𝘊𝘏 𝘋𝘈𝘠

🆚 Winthrop
📍 Reynolds Coliseum
⏰ 5pm ET
🖥️ ACCNX
📊 https://t.co/hkCGYGnoUZ
🎟️ https://t.co/dP3lX9qA5b pic.twitter.com/1banmcULYI

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 2, 2023

Quote:

---

Although he acknowledged the impressive performance by his team, head coach Luka Slabe gave a lot of credit to the fans that flocked to Reynolds for the Wolfpack's epic win. It was clear that the electric atmosphere in the arena powered the red-and-white through five hard-fought sets.

"I want to thank [the fans]," Slabe said. "I want to praise them for how great they were. A big part of our win was their support."

---

I went to the match against Rutgers. It's hard to see it from the few videos from the match posted above, but there was quite a big crowd there. You could hear it though, with the crowd roar. Probably around 1,000 to 1,200 people I would estimate. And very vocal and loud, due to large sections of students at each end on the lower level.

Volleyball is currently one of my top 2 favorite sports to attend/watch at NC State (along with women's tennis). I like watching volleyball and tennis, just in respect to the nature of the sport itself. There is exciting action going on every minute of the match in volleyball. Unlike soccer and softball/baseball, for example, which puts me to sleep and is quite boring to watch. I love watching women's college volleyball even if NC State is not involved, especially when it gets down to the quarterfinals, semis, and finals of the NCAA tournament. And it doesn't hurt that there is great "eye candy" involved in women's volleyball. In most other college sports, if NC State is not involved, I have zero interest in watching - such as women's basketball, soccer, softball/baseball, men's basketball, football, etc.

Big Red had an 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 fifth set last night in our win over Rutgers, including the kill that sent us to a fifth and match point🔥#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/xjqIBpu3eM

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 2, 2023

NC State beats Winthrop 3-0
25-20
26-24
25-17

No getting past Big Red and Jada🔥 pic.twitter.com/v2kembHdvl

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 2, 2023

The serve...the save...Skye doing Skye things😱 pic.twitter.com/QJ6FhsvcVK

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) September 2, 2023