The NC State volleyball team lost to Georgia Tech 3-2 despite one of the best performances by the Pack this season.
The Wolfpack (9-15, 4-8 ACC) was coming off a five-set win over Clemson Friday night..The Yellow Jackets (16-7, 9-3 ACC) extended its win streak to eight wins with today’s win.
“We’re pretty disappointed, given where we were in the match and how it ended,” said NC State head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “We felt that we played really well today and, obviously, didn’t get the outcome that we wanted.”
The first set was controlled by the Wolfpackto start, who went ahead 6-3. Georgia Tech then came back with its own run to take an 8-6 lead. The rest of the set stayed pretty close, with the biggest lead being five. However, with the one lead change, the Wolfpack dropped the set 25-19. Sophomore outside hitter Jade Parchment had six kills in the first set, providing a solid offensive attack.
The second set started out, again, with control from the Wolfpack, which took a 6-0 lead. Georgia Tech would close the gap halfway through the set, bringing the score to 12-11. The Wolfpack went on another run, bringing the score to 19-13 before going on to win the set 25-19.
Parchment ended the match with a career-high 24 kills. She was all over the place offensively and defensively, also ending with 11 digs.
“Obviously it feels great to do well, but it doesn’t mean as much when the outcome isn’t what we wanted,” Parchment said. “It’s definitely disappointing.”
The third set started pretty close, up until the score was 6-6. The Wolfpack went on a six-point run, bringing the score to 12-6. The Pack went ahead and gained an eight-point lead at one point, 19-11. NC State went on to win the set 25-16 after a hard hit from senior middle blocker Lauryn Terry.
The fourth set was largely controlled by the Pack, who kept a steady lead of at least six up until the score was 23-15. Georgia Tech then mounted a 10 point run to win the set 25-23. On Georgia Tech’s 23rd point, an out of bounds hit was overturned, allowing them to continue the run.
The final set was back and forth, with nobody taking a real lead. The Pack took a four-point lead, then Georgia Tech went on a seven-point run before a kill by opposite hitter Mellisa Evans stopped it. The Pack could not catch up all the way, and lost the final set 15-11.
“We’re playing really well right now,” Hampton-Keith said. “We’re doing so with a situation where we haven’t had a consistent lineup from week to week all season, just dealing with lots of injuries and dealing with moving parts and pieces.”
The Pack will be back in action on Friday as it travels to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest at 6 p.m.
