The Miami Hurricanes volleyball team dominated the NC State Wolfpack on Sunday afternoon at the Freeman Indoor Stadium, winning in three-straight sets to claim their third-straight victory.
Since the Diet Coke Classic in Minnesota, the Canes have played their best ball of the season, going 5-1 since and winning 17 of 22 sets. UM now boasts a strong 5-2 record at home.
Both teams traded blows in the first set, with the score being tied at 10, 13 and 14 before Miami broke the stalemate with three-straight points and seven of the next eight points to take a 21-16 lead.
UM (5-8, 3-1 ACC) never looked back in the first set, as Harvey, Gaby Arroyo, Ruth Martinez, and Denitsa Angelova scored four-straight points to win 25-16.
Martinez and Harvey led the way once again for the Hurricanes attack, as the duo combined for 23 kills and 25.5 points.
Since conference play started, Martinez is 10th in the ACC in points with 61.5 and 8th in kills with 54. The true freshman from the Dominican Republic has helped the Canes turn their season around.
The second set was the closest of the three sets, seeing nine ties and four lead changes. The Wolfpack (10-5, 1-1 ACC) had momentum early, scoring four straight to take a 5-3 lead.
After a quick run by the Canes gave them a 6-5 lead, both teams went back and forth until an error from Martinez gave NC State a 12-10 lead, the last lead the Wolfpack would have in the second set.
The Canes won five-straight points and outscored the Wolfpack 10-3, giving UM a 20-10 lead.
NC State fought back, taking six of the next eight points, but a kill by Martinez sealed the set with Miami winning 25-23.
The third set was defined by runs created by the Hurricanes attack. NC State took a quick 5-3 lead, but was short-lived as Miami tallied five straight to regain the lead.
NC State fought back again, trading blows but surrendered another 4-0 run from Miami to give the Canes a 12-9 lead. The Wolfpack took a timeout to regroup, but all it did was give Miami the rest it needed to put the game to bed.
UM rattled off seven-straight points and nine of the next 11 points, going up 21-11 and taking its largest lead of the afternoon.
Up 24-12, Sonja Danilovic called game, winning on a service ace to claim victory over the Wolfpack.
After struggling mightily to open the season with seven-consecutive losses, the Canes have found their footing in conference play, sitting at 3-1 against the ACC.
The Canes will look for their fourth-straight victory as the homestand continues with the Clemson Tigers (6-10, 0-4 ACC) coming to town on Friday, Oct. 9. The game at Freeman Indoor Stadium, celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness, will start at 7 p.m.
