The NC State volleyball team lost to the No. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers 3-1 on Sunday, Sept. 25 after fighting hard for over two and a half hours. The Wolfpack went into the first set coming off a tiring five-set win against Virginia on Friday night, with Pitt defeating UNC on the same day in four sets.
The first set saw a tough start for the Wolfpack (7-6, 1-1 ACC) as the Panthers (11-2, 2-0 ACC) took a quick lead off of an 8-0 run. Graduate defensive specialist Priscilla Hernandez tallied her first of four service aces throughout the match in the first set, along with an ace from freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard during a scoring run for NC State that cut Pitt’s lead to 20-19.
The Wolfpack took the lead 24-23 but wasn’t able to finish the set with a win. In total, there were eight scoring ties and seven lead changes in the first set, which Pitt finished with 31-29 win. This set was definitely one of the longest NC State had played so far this season, totalling over 45 minutes.
Whatever momentum that was with the Wolfpack in the first set was quickly lost during the second. The Panthers won this set 25-13, having led by as many as 14 at one point. NC State was unable to recover and posted a .000 hitting percentage off of six kills and six attack errors in the set.
The third set was more in the Wolfpack’s favor, taking an 11-9 lead as both teams traded points back and forth. NC State tallied its most kills during this set with 17 compared to Pitt’s 11. The set was again tied at 22, and a huge double block from junior middle blocker Riley Shaak and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Madison Williams gave NC State a 24-22 lead. With a dominant front row, the Pack took a set from the ranked Panthers and brought the match to 2-1.
The fourth and final set was much like the third, consisting of both teams trading points back and forth. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, Pitt created a small lead that would lead to the Panthers winning the set and match. By the end of the match, three State players had over 10 kills; sophomore opposite hitter Amanda Rice led the team with 12, while Brizard and graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic both had 11.
The Wolpack comes back to Reynolds Coliseum next week for a two-game homestand against Florida State and Miami. The games take place on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m., respectively.
