The NC State volleyball team got its 18th victory of the season Sunday afternoon beating the Virginia Cavaliers, 3-2.
The Wolfpack (18-12, 11-7 ACC) was able to squeeze out a win in a tightly contested match against the Cavaliers (7-23, 4-14 ACC). Senior libero Rachel Eppley notched a career-high six service aces. Not only was this total a career high but it also ties the school record for most aces in a game in the rally scoring era.
“It feels good,” Eppley said. “I knew I was close to the all-time record, so I’ve been really trying to work on my serve.”
The Pack took the court and played as sharp and focused as could be. It took the first set 25-16, having only one attack error and a hitting percentage of 53.6.
Even for all the quality of its play, the first set was still a back-and-forth affair. NC State pulled away a bit at the end of the set, but there were 10 ties and four lead changes before it was all said and done.
Sophomore Teni Sopitan scored six points in the first set and hit 60 percent on 10 attempts. Meanwhile junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney did some damage of her own, scoring 4.5 points with a 66.7 hitting percentage.
The second saw the Pack take another set that was neck and neck. Much like the rest of the game, it was a mix of veteran leadership and players who normally serve in a lesser role coming up big time. Freshman middle blocker Jessica Kemp went 6 for 8 with only one error and had a block assist to punctuate her performance in the set.
Senior setter Maggie Speaks was a steadying force for the Pack’s offense as always, recording 14 assists and three digs. Some of the balls she dug out looked like they were surely going to be kills for the Cavaliers.
The third and early parts of the fourth set saw the Pack lose whatever edge it came out with as it squandered multiple opportunities with errors. The energy appeared to be there, but the execution was not.
The fifth set entailed nothing different from the beginning four sets, tallying five ties and one lead change. The Pack won the set 15-12, which won the game 3-2.
“We are really happy with how we were able to recover after going up two [sets],” head coach Linda Hampton-Keith said. “Then losing the next two, close two-point sets there, and putting that behind us and really digging in in the fifth set.”
There were plenty of close calls and high tempers throughout the match. Despite seeing several interactions between the coaches and the officials, there were no cards given out to either team.
“It just seems like you got to give a little more towards the end of the season,” Hampton-Keith said. “Yeah it was an intense match going back and forth, and that is what I think it comes down to, is you have to take the emotion out and focus in on doing your job and doing it well.”
NC State seeks to finish strong as it plays its second to last match of the season Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum against Wake Forest.
