With the NCAA tournament just over two weeks away, NC State volleyball needed a spark to close out the season strong. The Wolfpack found that spark on Saturday, securing an electrifying five-set win over Wake Forest. The victory marks its 10 in the last 11 meetings with the Demon Deacons.
A raucous crowd in Winston-Salem was treated to a dynamic first set, with multiple points of more than 20 volleys. The home fans enjoyed an opening set win over the Pack (14-10, 9-7 ACC) despite NC State’s net presence, creating a 5-2 block advantage. A 7-0 run earned the Demon Deacons (13-14, 5-11 ACC) the only lead change of the set after early execution from the Wolfpack. The set victory was just Wake Forest’s second against NC State in three meetings the last two years.
Unable to avoid going down two sets, senior opposite hitter Amanda Rice came in clutch. The offensive juggernaut who has a compelling case to make an All-ACC team played her best match of the season when her team needed her most.
Rice’s second set was something to behold, scoring seven kills and two service aces for a whopping 13.5 points through a pair of sets. At the intermission, the second closest player for either team had 6.5. The impact of the senior paid dividends for NC State, who led wire-to-wire in the second to knot the score. The Wolfpack finished the set with a .333 hit percentage, a colossal improvement from a .150 first set.
Rice’s four service aces were a career-high along with a season-high 26 points despite missing stretches of the match due to ankle soreness.
The Wolfpack’s momentum carried over to the third set, typified by an awe-inspiring rally from Rice and junior outside hitter Courtney Bryant amid a 6-0 run, forcing a Wake timeout. Bryant finished with a season-high 17.5 points, including 15 kills.
But the run was all for naught as the Demon Deacons rebounded with the help of seven NC State service errors. Despite finding itself down 23-21 late in the set, a clutch 4-0 run seized a commanding 2-1 lead for Wake Forest, putting the Wolfpack’s tournament aspirations on thin ice.
A gutsy response from NC State, reflected by the emotional outcries from head coach Luka Slabe, saw a crucial 25-23 fourth set Wolfpack triumph to inflict a do-or-die fifth. Wake Forest seemed to have control for most of the set, but self-inflicted wounds kept Slabe’s squad around long enough to squeak out the set.
After a back-and-forth night, the Wolfpack were the first to 15, ending the Demon Deacons’ shot to play spoiler for their in-state rivals. A dominant fifth set was fittingly ended by an Amanda Rice kill, her 20th of the evening.
Two key takeaways for Slabe came from the uncharacteristic tendencies of the Wolfpack. After recording five blocks in the first set, the team had five the rest of the way, signifying a negative shift in net presence regardless of the result.
The second is a mistake-heavy outing compared to past games. Following a sweep of the Demon Deacons in Raleigh, NC State nearly doubled its total errors, committing 45 service and attack errors compared to just 23 on Wednesday. The team came into Saturday averaging 25.8 per match.
The Wolfpack aims to capture this week’s momentum toward the end of the season, with No. 10 SMU next up on the schedule. The match will take place in Reynolds Coliseum at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov 22.
