Wake Forest extended N.C. State’s ACC losing streak on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum as the Demon Deacons toppled the Wolfpack 3-0.
It was the team’s 41st consecutive ACC loss for State (3-14, 0-7 ACC) and the 13th straight loss since the first weekend of the season.
The Pack was in action for the first time since a 3-1 showing against the nationally-ranked Blue Devils, where the Pack played well, according to freshman Lauren Zaniboni.
“We came out strong and played really tough against Duke, who’s nationally ranked,” Zaniboni said. “We definitely could have beaten Wake Forest, and we didn’t rise to the occasion at all.”
Zaniboni led State with nine kills, all of which came in the first game. Freshman Alex Smith dished out 23 assists, while freshman libero Lindsay Benac picked up the Pack’s lone service ace.
“We thought the way we played against Duke was going to roll over into this match,” Benac said of the loss. “We were expecting them to hand the game to us.”
State lost the first two games 30-26 and 30-23. The Pack’s slow start is a recurring theme, however, according to Zaniboni.
“A lot of times we start off slow, and we need to stop doing that, because it’s not really working out for us,” she said. “We start off slow too much.”
Wake Forest (7-9, 4-3) ended with a .263 hitting percentage. Natalie Mullikin led the team with a .679 percentage. Mullikin also had 20 kills, one error and two aces in the match while Kristen White contributed 10. Setter Kelsey Jones had 38 assists and had one of the Demon Deacons’ five aces.
“Wake Forest didn’t do anything that we didn’t know they were going to do,” coach Charita Stubbs said. “We folded under pressure.”
State had a .016 hitting percentage along with 31 errors along with 33 kills, but Stubbs insisted the problems went deeper than statistics.
“We need to learn to find a heart,” she said. “We need to go to the wizard and find a heart.”
The Deacons raced out to a 9-1 lead in the final game and State would never get any closer before losing 30-9. Stubbs cleared her bench and several players saw rare action in the blowout, including freshman Nicole Huber, who felt her contribution could have turned the tide of the match.
“I think that I could have been the one to turn it around,” she said. “Next time I hope we come out stronger and our mentality will be there.”
Stubbs wasn’t specific about the team’s issues.
“I’m disgusted with the display we put out there today,” she said.