Katie Barnes
Sophomore opposite hitter, Jade Parchment digs the ball in Reynolds Coliseum on October 27. Parchment had 15 kills, one ace and nine digs in the Wolfpack’s 3-0 loss to Syracuse.
The NC State volleyball team earned its sixth ACC victory on the road Friday night against Miami in five sets.
Coming off a five-set loss to Duke in its last match, the Wolfpack (11-16, 6-9 ACC) was looking to pick up its first win on its three-game road trip against Miami (10-13, 6-9 ACC). The Wolfpack started off strong, winning the first two sets 25-20 and 25-23. The Canes rallied back by winning the next two sets 25-23 and 28-26 to force a decisive fifth set, but the Pack managed to seal the victory in the fifth set, winning 16-14.
In the first set, NC State got out to a strong start early by taking a 10-5 lead. Sophomore Jade Parchment’s play at the net was a big part of the Pack gaining its early lead. Parchment had three straight kills for the Pack to start the game and ended up finishing the game with 19 kills. The Pack continued its strong play at the net which helped it win the first set 25-20.
The Pack started off slow in the second set losing 11-6 early on. After gaining a five-point lead, the Canes made an attacking error to put the Pack back on serve. NC State took advantage of the Miami error and won three straight serve points to cut the lead to just two. The set continued to be a back-and-forth battle that the Wolfpack narrowly edged out 25-23.
After losing the first two sets, the Canes rallied back. They won a close third set in which the biggest lead was four points when Miami led 15-11. The Canes were able to stay on the attack for most of the set and beat the Pack in kills by a margin of 18 to 11. The final kill of this set for Miami came when Kalaniuvalu, who led the team in kills with 22, was able to put the set away to win it 25-23.
The Canes continued their comeback in another tightly contested fourth set. It was another back-and-forth set where yet again the biggest lead for either side was four by Miami. NC State took a late one-point lead after an attacking error from Miami but was unable to capitalize on this lead and lost three straight points to lose the set 28-26.
The fifth and final set was also back and forth with neither team able to gain more than a two-point lead. With the Pack leading 15-14, junior Melissa Evans was able to make a key block that led to the Canes making the game-deciding error. This highlighted what was a great game for Evans who finished with a team-leading 23 kills.
This was an important five-set victory for the Pack which needed a conference win as it came into the game 5-9 in ACC play.
The Wolfpack is scheduled to play Georgia Tech Friday at 1 p.m. in the final game of its three-game road trip.