The NC State volleyball team took down Virginia on the road Friday night at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, Virginia, for its third win in its last four matches.
A well-rounded game from its hitters led the Wolfpack (8-11, 3-4 ACC) to a win in four sets, 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18, to take down the Cavaliers (9-11, 1-6 ACC) and remain in ninth place in the ACC.
After an early 4-4 tie in the first set, NC State scored the next five points to take a 9-4 lead it never relinquished. The two struggling ACC squads traded points for the rest of the set and an attack error by the Cavaliers gave the Pack a 25-21 first set win.
Virginia jumped out to a slim 11-9 lead in the first set, but the Wolfpack responded with seven straight points to take a 16-11 lead, thanks in large part to Virginia gifting the Pack five points off of errors. The set ended with much of the same, as the Cavaliers committed back-to-back errors to close out the set and give the Pack a two-set lead.
NC State opened up a 5-1 lead in a potential closeout third set, but three straight errors by the Pack aided a 5-0 Virginia run and allowed the Cavaliers back into the set. The teams traded points for a while but a service error by redshirt junior middle blocker Jessica Kemp kickstarted a quick 3-0 run for Virginia that it used to ice the set.
It took an extra set, but NC State put the match away with a dominant fourth set. Following the script of the game, a well-balanced attack powered the Pack to its 25-18 set win.
Four different Wolfpack players finished with double-digit kills, led by Kemp’s 14. Senior middle blocker Lauryn Terry (13), junior opposite hitter Melissa Evans (12) and sophomore outside hitter Jade Parchment (10) all chipped in at least ten kills.
Redshirt freshman setter Nina Sharpton set the Pack’s hitters up all night long, finishing with 38 assists. On the back line, Parchment led the team with 15 digs, while redshirt sophomore libero Kayle Frazier and Evans finished with 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Wolfpack’s next match will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20 at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when it takes on No. 3 Pittsburgh. The game will be broadcast live on the ACC Network and ESPNU.
