The NC State volleyball team will play against Duke University following its two losses to Louisville and Notre Dame, on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It will be interesting to see if the Wolfpack’s (19-10, 14-4 ACC) identity of tenacity shines through. Its last two matches against Louisville for first place in the ACC, and a five-set match with Notre Dame were tough losses for the team.
Earlier in the season, NC State defeated Duke University (17-12, 9-9 ACC) 3-0 but the Pack also won against Notre Dame 3-2, but lost 2-3 this past Sunday to the Irish.
In its first battle against Duke this season, the Pack won a close first set 25-23. The second set went into overtime 27-25, while the third and final set was easily taken by the Pack 25-18.
The Wolfpack outscored the Blue Devils, leading with 48 kills while the Devils only had 39 kills. Out of those 48 kills, two players of the Wolfpack scored more than half of them combined. Senior Julia Brown had 16 kills and graduate Bree Bailey notched 11 kills.
The Wolfpack also had a strong defense that game. The Pack had 10 more digs, 59-49, and 10 more assists, 47-37, than the Blue Devils. Senior Kaitlyn Kearney had five of the team’s nine blocks, but the Pack fell short compared to Duke’s 12 team blocks.
Both the Wolfpack and the Blue Devils faced 21 errors each — that amount of errors can lead to opportunities for either team to take advantage to take a set and the match.
In that particular game, the Wolfpack managed to recover and push through against Duke. The team’s efforts led to a victory and during that time, the Wolfpack along with Pittsburgh were the only two teams to still be undefeated in the ACC.
However, that previous victory will not help determine the outcome or the level of difficulty of the upcoming match due to the Pack’s recent five-set loss to Notre Dame.
If the Wolfpack can reclaim its identity and perform like it has for most of the season, then Duke should be a smooth match. If the Pack is to falter after two-consecutive losses, then it may be a struggle for the team.
This match is the team’s second to last game of its conference schedule. After Duke, the Pack will prepare for its last game against Wake Forest on Friday.
