NC State volleyball falls to Miami for second consecutive loss

Kat Peters, Correspondent • March 6, 2021

Redshirt junior defensive specialist/libero Kaylee Frazier digs against Duke on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021 at Reynolds Coliseum. Frazier had 17 digs as the Wolfpack won in five sets.

NC State volleyball was once again unable to secure a victory this weekend, this time losing to Miami 3-1. The loss drops the Pack below .500 at 5-6 in the 2020-21 season.

Senior Melissa Evans put in a dominant performance, leading the Wolfpack with 21 kills and 22.5 points. Junior Jade Parchment was second behind Evans, with 12 kills and 14.5 points, while redshirt junior Kaylee Frazier recorded a team-high 14 digs.

The Hurricanes (6-3, 6-3 ACC) got out early in the first set, scoring two points before the Pack was able to do anything. Miami was able to hold the Pack to a low score early on to get a healthy lead that NC State was unable to return from. NC State tried to hold the Hurricanes back near the end of the set to take the lead for the first time, but Miami held true throughout the set to win it 25-21.

The second set started in the opposite way of the first, with NC State securing the lead right out of the gate. The Hurricanes were able to squeeze some points in between a succession of NC State points, but the Pack started to show what they are capable of in this set.

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Miami just wasn’t able to keep up with the Pack, who played its only winning set in a 25-22 victory.

Despite scoring the first point of the third set, the Wolfpack just wasn’t able to hold up as Miami quickly surged past it for a 3-1 lead. NC State was able to get points in every two or three Miami points, but once again, couldn’t keep up with the Hurricanes, giving up another set 25-19.

The fourth set brought more excitement than the previous three with NC State giving Miami more of a struggle than it had previously. The Pack scored the first two points, before Miami tied it at 3-3. Before the Hurricanes got too far ahead, NC State tied the score up again at 6, 7, 8 and 9 points. After that, though, Miami regained the momentum it had during the rest of the match to maintain a lead in a third set 25-22 win and a match victory.

NC State was able to put up solid numbers in this game with 51 kills, 48 digs and a .278 hit percentage. However, the Pack couldn’t beat Miami’s 53 kills, 57 digs and .243 hit percentage.

The Pack will be back in action on Friday, March 12 at 4 p.m. against Pittsburgh in Winston-Salem.