The NC State volleyball team lost on the road against Louisville 3-2 after a tight battle. The entire match was contested, and both sides showed plenty of challenges for the opponent.
Following the sweep against Furman, the Wolfpack (5-8) took on Louisville (8-3) in Kentucky for the second game of a three-game road trip. After the relatively easy win over Furman, this proved to be a challenge for the Wolfpack, which was unable to dig it out.
The first set needed to go into extra points, with the Pack squeaking out a nail-biting 30-28 win. Louisville won the second one with ease, 25-12. The third required extra points as well, with the Pack once again pulling out a close set win, this time 27-25.
Louisville won the fourth set 25-19, bringing the match to a tie. In the fifth set, Louisville led by as much as four, racing out to a 12-8 lead in a fifth set that only goes to 15 points. The Pack fought back to 12-10, but gave up the final three points to lose the set and the match.
The Wolfpack back line was excellent all match long, racking up 75 digs as a team. Senior defensive specialist/libero Grace Irvin led the team in digs with 25, her season high.
Junior opposite hitter Melissa Evans led the team in kills with 20 but was also credited with 59 total attacks. She also got 11 digs, her most of the season. Sophomore opposite hitter Jade Parchment tallied 10 kills on 35 total attacks.
The entire team had 58 kills out of 167 total attacks. Against Furman, the team had 49 kills with 106 total attacks, a much higher ratio of kills to attacks.
Louisville led in blocks with 15, five of which were solo. The Wolfpack had six total blocks but still kept a solid line in the back with plenty of digs.
The Wolfpack had a very large number of attack errors with 33, as opposed to Louisville with 22. This combined with the missed opportunities on offense proved to be a constant problem against the Cardinals in a tightly contested game where every point mattered.
The Wolfpack will face Notre Dame on Sunday in South Bend, Indiana, to close off its road trip. The next home game will be against UNC-Chapel Hill on Oct. 2 at Reynolds Coliseum.
