On Friday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, No. 5 Stanford women’s volleyball will take on the NC State Wolfpack at home. Stanford comes in at 9-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC while NC State comes in at 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford got swept on the road on Sunday at Louisville. Louisville is now ranked No. 4 in the nation after being ranked No. 5 last week while Stanford is now ranked No. 5.
RECAP: No. 3 Stanford WVB gets swept at No. 5 Louisville
On NC State: NC State is off to a strong start with respect to their record, but they haven’t beaten any ranked teams. They took care of business at home against Virginia Tech and Virginia in their first two ACC matches but now have a tough task ahead against Stanford who is a top-five team. Against Creighton, who is now ranked No. 6, NC State got swept. Stanford will be the highest ranked team they’ve faced all season long up to this point.
The Wolfpack are led by senior opposite Amanda Rice (3.42 kills per set), junior outside hitter Ava Brizard (2.74 kills), and junior outside hitter Courtney Bryant (2.52 kills). The three of them are playing fantastic and doing a nice job of sharing the ball. Graduate student setter Naomi Cabello is averaging 6.00 assists per set, doing a good job of getting the ball to the outside hitters.
As a team, the Wolfpack average 13.22 kills per set on a .246 hitting percentage while their opponents average 11.75 kills per set on a .192 hitting percentage. As for serving, the Wolfpack average 1.81 aces per set while their opponents average 1.0 aces per set.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Amanda Rice. If NC State is going to win this match, they’re going to need Rice to have a big performance. If Stanford contains her, I like their chances to win this match with little trouble.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is win the service battle. NC State is used to winning the service battle decisively as is Stanford, who averages 1.73 aces per set to their opponents' 1.25. If Stanford serves better and applies appropriate service pressure, they’ll be fine.
Lastly, Stanford needs to keep getting the ball to Elia Rubin. Rubin is averaging 4.17 kills per set, playing fantastic this season. While Stanford can’t overly rely on Rubin and needs to spread the ball around a bit, Rubin is the star of the team. Any night she has a big night is usually a good night for Stanford.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning this match in four sets. I think NC State will get a set off Stanford, but in the end the Cardinal will win rather handily. Stanford should be motivated coming off a tough loss to Louisville. That doesn’t bode well for NC State.
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