NC State volleyball’s first trip to the West Coast in a realigned ACC saw the Wolfpack fall to No. 5 Stanford 3-1 on Friday night. The loss marks its first conference defeat of the season after a 2-0 start.
During the first meeting in the programs’ histories, NC State (7-4, 2-1 ACC) hung with the national powerhouse throughout the match as Stanford’s largest lead (10-2, 2-1 ACC) through three sets was just four points. The two squads were square with 44 kills each before a lopsided fourth set distanced the Cardinal.
While results don’t tell the full story, the Cardinal won more pivotal points late in the first three sets while the Wolfpack struggled to power through the finish. Stanford remains undefeated at home as it establishes itself in its new conference.
Knotted at 6-6 in the first set, NC State went on a 6-1 run to take early momentum and force a Stanford timeout. The Cardinal did not panic and jumped back into the set with its own 7-2 run, keeping momentum through the whistle to take a 25-22 first set.
The second set saw five lead changes as neither side won more than two consecutive points for 27 straight serves in the middle of the set. After leveling the score 23-23 in the final moments of the second set, a crucial service error from senior middle blocker Jada Allen was followed by a clutch kill from Stanford to steal a potential swing set.
After fighting to an 8-7 deficit in the third set, the Wolfpack was given new life and never relinquished a lead to the Cardinal, winning 25-22. Junior outside hitter Ava Brizard and senior opposite hitter Amanda Rice combined for 10 kills in the set as NC State looked to stun Stanford late.
However, the comeback attempt was all-for-not as the Cardinal put an exclamation point on the win with a 25-8 romp in the fourth set. NC State never led and saw its resurgence quickly dissipate. An 18-7 kill gap spelled disaster for a forgettable final set.
Stanford had four players finish with at least 13 kills, including opposite hitter Elia Rubin who currently sits third in the ACC in kills per set this season. Rice was one of two Wolfpack players to hit double digits, marking her ninth time this year while earning at least nine in every match.
A concerning stat to note was the difference in blocks as Stanford won the battle 10-5 despite sitting near the bottom in the ACC in blocks per set. The Wolfpack currently averages 2.39 blocks per set and were held to just 1.25 tonight, something head coach Luka Slabe will look to address before the team’s next game.
NC State also finished with just two service aces, just above what the team typically averages in a single set. These discouraging trends couldn’t come at a worse time with the team scheduled to face rivals UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke in the next eight days.
The Wolfpack will remain in California for a match against the Golden Bears on Sunday at 4 p.m.
