In its first ACC road game this season, NC State volleyball lost against UNC-Chapel Hill, 3-1, at Carmichael Arena Wednesday night.
The Wolfpack (7-6, 1-2 ACC) started off the game strong and fast, but soon fell to the Tar Heels (5-7, 1-2 ACC) in the second and third sets.
The first set was won swiftly by the Wolfpack, 25-17. The second set saw the Tar Heels maintain firm control and win, 25-22. The third set was tight, but the Tar Heels pushed aside the Pack 25-23. Lastly, in a back and forth affair the Tar Heels won the fourth set 25-22.
“The frustrating thing is that we came out strong,” head coach Linda Hampton-Keith said. “We do not usually come out strong so to see us come out strong like that was really, really great. Unfortunately we just couldn’t sustain [it] as their level of play went up we started to chase them.”
The Wolfpack was off to a strong start in the first set both offensively and defensively. A kill from senior middle blocker Teni Sopitan got the Pack rolling, 5-2. Following behind was a block from senior setter Kylie Pickrell and junior middle blocker Lauryn Terry to increase the early lead, 7-2.
“I think it was good [the first set],” Sopitan said. “The passing was really good, Kylie was setting some really good sets in, and UNC didn’t pick up that I was a line hitter.”
The blocking continued to stay strong as the Pack had high hands and offered touches to slow the ball down making it easier to set up attacks. This only lasted in the first set before the Pack was out blocked 15 to seven.
Both Sopitan and Evans had six kills in the first set out of their 19 and 14 kills, respectively.
The Tar Heels called a timeout to slow down the Pack’s momentum after reaching 20-13, but it was futile as the Pack advanced anyway to take the first set, 25-17.
“Doing the small stuff right, to have a set like we did in the first,” Pickrell said. “That’s the volleyball we play, set one, the rest of it is us waiting to see what the other teams is going to do.”
The Tar Heels took early control in the second set, taking a quick 4-0 lead. The Wolfpack fought back, but was slow to make it happen.
NC State called its first timeout while down 18-14, only to take its second timeout a couple minutes later while trailing 20-15. The second timeout did some good though, as the Pack gained two consecutive points, causing the Tar Heels to take a timeout of their own.
Graduate middle blocker Kiera Moore tipped the ball to lessen the deficit which started a 4-0 run for the Pack to tie up the game 21-21.
The Tar Heels called a timeout in order to break the Pack’s momentum and regain the control that it had earlier in the set. The timeout proved to be effective as the Tar Heels finished out the second set with three consecutive points, 25-22.
The third set started off in a heated battle. Although the Pack began behind 3-1, it soon tied up the score 3-3 after Pickrell saved the ball while crashing into the table and used one arm to put the ball back into play.
The teams stayed at each others’ heels, 7-7, but soon the Pack started to pull away, 10-8. But the lead didn’t last long for the Wolfpack as the Tar Heels took it back, 13-11, with a short four-point run.
The Wolfpack got its engine running again and closed the gap to one point after a successful block by Sopitan and freshman middle blocker Pam Chukwujekwu, 14-13. A kill from freshman outside hitter Jade Parchment tied up the third set 17-17 after a long and exciting rally. Parchment had 11 kills throughout the match.
The Pack ended up trailing 23-22, putting it in the same position as the second set. Ultimately, the Tar Heels won the third set 25-23.
The Wolfpack entered the fourth set down 2-1, but got out to a 3-0 start. The Pack was able to hold onto the lead for the first part of the set but finally lost it to the Heels, 11-10. NC State managed to not fall far behind though and an attack from Sopitan tied the set but soon lost it again 15-13.
“You look at this stat sheet and how close we were in numbers,” Pickrell said. “There’s really nothing else to say, it’s really disappointing.”
The Pack had taken the lead 22-20 only to end up in the same situation it has been in the last three sets, trailing 23-22. Ultimately, the Wolfpack came up short to the Tar Heels, losing the fourth set 25-22.
The Wolfpack remains on the road for its next opponent Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum this Sunday at 1 p.m.
