SYRACUSE, NY – The NC State volleyball team defeated Syracuse 3-1 in the season finale in New York.
Sophomore Martyna Leoniak led the team with 16 kills with three errors on 26 attempts to finish with a .500 hitting percentage. She also recorded four aces in the match with three straight at the end.
Amanda Rice added 12 kills for the Pack.
Riley Shaak led the team with five blocks and Vanja Bukilic added four.
Set One (25-18)
The Pack went on a 4-1 run to open the match. Syracuse challenged the Pack’s fourth point and won to give NC State only a one point lead. A monster block by Leoniak and Jada Allen allowed the Pack to maintain the lead through the front part of the set. At one point, the Wolfpack held a seven point lead over the Orange, with Leoniak leading the way with four kills. At the first timeout of the set, the Wolfpack led 18-12 and Syracuse tallied six errors. A block by Allen and Bukilic allowed the Pack to take set one.
Leoniak led the team with eight kills on 12 attempts and finished the set with a .667 hitting percentage.
Set Two (20-25)
Syracuse took its first lead of the match to start set two. The Orange led 7-5, but an attack by Madison Williams allowed the Pack to make it a one point set. A block by Riley Shaak tied the set eight all and an ace by Cabello allowed the Pack to take its first lead of the set.
The Orange tied the match 11 all after a bad dig by the Pack – from there, it was a back-and-forth battle. After back-to-back receiving errors by the Wolfpack, the Orange took a 18-16 lead. Head coach Luka Slabe took his final timeout of the set with the Orange leading by three. Syracuse arrived on match point, with the Pack trailing by six, but the Wolfpack wasn’t ready for it to end. A kill by Leoniak and an ace by Shaak allowed for the Pack to minimize the lead to four, but Syracuse took the set to tie the match 1-1.
Leoniak continued to lead the team with 12 kills on 16 attempts with no errors and a .776 hitting percentage. Williams and Amanda Rice each tallied five kills by the end of the second set.
Set Three (28-26)
The Pack struggled to gain momentum. The Orange recorded back-to-back aces to take a 9-6 lead over NC State and Slabe took his first timeout of the set to help regroup the team. The Pack went on to…
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