The NC State volleyball team went winless over the weekend, dropping matches to UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday and Louisville on Sunday. The Wolfpack (12-7, 1-6 ACC) have now lost six straight contests immediately after winning 12 in a row.
First up for State were the Tar Heels. Carolina brought its A-game against the Pack, which was swept for the second game in a row.
“We didn’t play well,” Bunn said. “They were more physical than us, they served better than us, and we didn’t respond well.”
State started the match off strong, shooting out to a 6-2 lead. However, the Pack’s hot start was quickly cooled by the Heels, who responded with a 14-4 run of their own. UNC-CH kept up the ferocity and took the first set, 25-15.
The State attack was abysmal in the first set, finishing with a negative kill percentage. The State team seemed out of sorts, mishitting well-set balls and making poor decisions.
“We started off strong in every set,” senior outside hitter Dariyan Hopper said. “But we started playing a little tentatively, and that took a toll on us.”
With the loss of multi-threat senior outside hitter Nikki Glass, head coach Bryan Bunn was forced to make changes to his formations. Often hitters, such as Hopper and freshman Julia Brown, would be forced to play on the back line.
“I like defense,” Hopper said. “It’s a little different, but it’s nice to have a senior on the court to help out and pick up the younger girls when they’re down.”
To start the second half, Bunn changed the libero position, subbing in sophomore Rachel Eppley for usual starter senior Alston Kearns. The substitution paid dividends, as Eppley recorded eight digs, three assists and a service ace as libero.
“She was very consistent with her energy,” Bunn said.
The second set was much more of a contest than the first, as State never let the Heels lead grow over four. However, the Pack never could close the gap entirely, and Carolina took the second set, 25-21, to enter the intermission up 2-0.
Freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney continued to hit extremely efficiently in the second, notching four kills on just seven attempts. The freshman ended the match with seven kills and five blocks, the most in each category for State.
The third set started as a seesaw battle, as there were six ties and four lead changes all before either team hit 10 points. However, the Heels eventually took over, ending the set on a 17-8 run to complete their sweep of NC State.
The Pack was stifled by the Carolina front line, which recorded 12 blocks in only three sets. The Heels boast the most blocks per game in the ACC, with two of their players in the top five individually.
“We practiced hitting high and hard, and when we did we were successful,” Bunn said. “When we let the ball drop, they got blocks. They’re a big, physical team.”
The Pack put up a better fight on Sunday against the Cardinals, but failed to finish and ended with another loss, 3-2. So far this season, State is 2-3 in five-set matches.
“There were points that we played really well, and there were times that we gave up four or five in a row,” Bunn said. “Louisville’s a good team; you can’t do that against a good team.”
State looked like a different team from Friday, taking the first set with ease. The Wolfpack offense, which struggled against Carolina’s powerful block, was revived, hitting .325 in the first set with 19 kills.
Kearney was dominant in the second set, notching three of the team’s first four kills and finishing the set with six kills. The freshman led the team in kills for the second straight match with 15.
“I’ve been trying to mix up my shots a lot to be more productive with my kills,” Kearney said. “It’s been helping with my kill percentage.”
State as a whole, however, did not perform well in the second, as the team never led. The Cardinals put together a 6-1 run midway through the set, highlighted by two service aces, to distance themselves.
Louisville enjoyed an outrageous .591 kill percentage in the second set, mostly due to a Wolfpack front line that recorded zero blocks through the first three sets.
“[The lack of blocking] was very concerning, that’s our first line of defense,” Bunn said. “Six blocks in a five-set match is not enough.”
The third set was much more fruitful for the Pack, as they responded to the Cardinals’ attack by hitting .333 in the third. The team also added four blocks on its way to a 25-20 victory.
The fourth set was all Louisville, as the team used two runs, 8-1 and 7-2, to challenge the Pack, 25-14. Tied at two sets apiece, the two teams headed into a fifth and final set.
Louisville started in front in the fifth set, but two kills from sophomore middle blocker Morgan Cormier tied the game at 9-8, forcing the Cardinals to call a timeout. The pause in action made all the difference for Louisville, as the team rattled off six straight points to take the match, 3-2.
During the final set, the Pack recorded a negative kill percentage. Bunn said that timidity was a big reason for the team’s struggles with finishing.
“We have to be aggressive,” Bunn said. “We get tentative and take half-swings, and when you take half-swings you’re not going to score.”
State will travel to Virginia Friday to attempt to turn its season around. Eppley said the path to success is through practice.
“We really need to be focused in practice,” Eppley said. “We need to make sure that from Tuesday to Friday, we need to be engaged in every single contact.”
