NC State volleyball traveled to California to take on the Golden Bears and came up short in a 3-0 loss.
The Wolfpack (7-5, 2-2 ACC) came into the game seeking its first ACC road win of the season. After previously playing at Stanford, this game was its second in three days in the state of California. With the opportunity to secure a conference road win, NC State couldn’t defeat the Golden Bears (9-7, 1-3 ACC).
The first set of the match saw a very balanced offensive attack from the Wolfpack. Junior middle blocker Sophie Groom, junior outside hitter Ava Brizard and senior opposite hitter Amanda Rice each had three kills. The Wolfpack combined for 13 team kills in the first set, matching the Golden Bears.
While the offensive kill match was even in the first set, NC State had a glaring weakness as it committed three more errors than California. These errors cost the Wolfpack as it took a 25-19 loss in set one.
The second set saw more of the same. It was a back-and-forth battle that mostly saw the Golden Bears hold the lead. NC State kept it close for most of the set as the margin of score did not exceed three until the final kill. The Wolfpack had a balanced attack, getting as many players involved as possible with Rice leading the way with five kills. Ultimately, it was not enough and California won the second set 25-21.
The third set was very different from the previous two as it was not a back-and-forth battle. NC State started strong and took a 7-6 lead, but California went on a 6-0 run to make it 12-7 and the Wolfpack never recovered. California pulled away, winning 25-14 to win the match.
One aspect of NC State’s gameplay that contributed to the loss was the errors. It had 23 attack errors and seven service errors, something head coach Luka Slabe will be looking to fix heading into a tough stretch of ACC games. After playing two home games against Tobacco Road rivals, the Pack will play four straight ACC road games.
The Wolfpack’s next game will be in Reynolds Coliseum against UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday.
The game is slated to start at 7 p.m.
