NC State volleyball lost 3-0 to Georgia Tech to wrap up the weekend and finish its two-week, four-game road trip.
The Wolfpack (10-12, 4-8 ACC) fought hard against the Yellow Jackets (15-10, 4-8 ACC), but the first two sets were not in the Pack’s control as the Yellow Jackets pushed ahead and won the first set 25-16. The Yellow Jackets an easily took the second set 25-13. With a severe two-set deficit, the Pack held onto the third set, forcing a slight overtime before falling 26-24.
The Wolfpack was unable to gain any momentum in the first set as the Yellow Jackets took an early lead and never relinquished it. At one point, Georgia Tech went on a 4-0 run to double the lead 12-6, then went up 20-12.
The Pack scored consecutive points only three times while the Yellow Jackets had multiple 3-0 and 4-0 runs that pushed the Yellow Jackets ahead while keeping the Pack out of reach.
The Wolfpack only had a side out percentage of 48 percent while the Yellow Jackets doubled that at 68.5 percent.
Senior setter Kylie Pickrell had a double-double with 25 assists and 10 digs. The Pack had 17 attack errors and 10 service errors. The service errors especially being a tough blow.
Georgia Tech took a 5-0 run early on to distance itself from the Wolfpack 9-2. The pattern continued until the Wolfpack was behind 19-9 in the second set.
The Wolfpack’s top scorers were sophomore outside hitter Melissa Evans and senior middle blocker Teni Sopitan, neither reaching double-digit kills. Evans had nine followed by Sopitan’s seven. The majority of Evans kills were in the third set, totaling four kills. Sopitan scored six of her seven kills within the first two sets.
The Yellow Jackets reached set point 24-12 before quickly finishing off the second set.
Georgia Tech’s hitting percentage was a healthy .323 compared to the Pack’s struggling .144 percentage.
Determined not to go down without a fight, the Wolfpack went up 5-0 and remained in the lead until the Yellow Jackets returned with their own 5-0 run, 12-10.
The Wolfpack and Yellow Jackets tied up the score nine times after that. The Wolfpack only took the lead once out of the nine attempts at 23-21.
Georgia Tech took a timeout to come back and reach set point 24-23. The Wolfpack stopped the momentum of the game with a timeout and matched them 24-24. Georgia Tech then won two consecutive points for the game.
The Wolfpack will return home to play against Wake Forest at Reynolds Coliseum this Friday at 7 p.m.
