The NC State volleyball team dropped both ends of its doubleheader in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, Aug. 28, as it was defeated by the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Tennessee Volunteers.
In heart-wrenching fashion, the Wolfpack (0-3) blew a 2-0 set lead to drop the front end of its doubleheader to the Red Raiders (2-1) in five sets, 25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 20-25, 9-15. The match was quite contested, with three of the sets being decided by five points or less.
The Pack was firing on all cylinders at the start of the match, posting a hitting percentage of .308 in the first set. The opening set was deadlocked at 13-13 when State went on an 8-1 run, leaving Texas Tech in the dust as the Red Raiders failed to muster a counterattack. Texas Tech’s lack of cohesion early on aided the Wolfpack’s efforts, as three of NC State’s eight points in that 8-1 run were a result of an attack error by the Red Raiders.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Taylor Rowland and graduate opposite hitter Melissa Evans led the charge for the Wolfpack’s attack, with each notching four kills in the first set. Uncharacteristically, however, Evans erred early and often, accumulating 12 attack errors over the course of the match.
This lack of cohesion in the NC State offense only snowballed as the match went on, as the Pack committed at least five attack errors in each of the last four sets compared to just three in the first set. On the other side of the net, Texas Tech picked up steam as the match progressed, with the team’s hitting percentage improving with each set.
The third set turned the tide of the match, as the Red Raiders rebounded from a 2-0 set deficit to take a 9-3 lead in the third set. The Wolfpack attempted to retake control of the match by closing that six-point gap and taking a 13-11 lead, but four consecutive NC State attack errors gave the momentum back to Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders grabbed control of the match from that point forward, establishing dominance on the inside by outblocking the Wolfpack 14-6 by the end of the match. Though NC State served well, notching eight service aces to Texas Tech’s five, the Pack could not claw its way back into contention, dropping each of the last three sets and ultimately the match to the Red Raiders.
State was unable to reverse its fortunes in the second half of the doubleheader, falling to the Tennessee Volunteers (3-0) in straight sets, 25-12, 25-23, 25-16. The match was deviation from its predecessor in that the Wolfpack spent the entirety of the match trying and failing to keep pace with the Vols.
Unlike the match against Texas Tech, it was the Pack that took a back seat to its opponent as Tennessee hit the ground running in the first set. Despite a lack of the miscues that characterized State’s performance in the first match, as the Wolfpack committed only two attack errors in the first set, it was unable to keep up with the Volunteers’ attack, swiftly falling in the first set by a score of 25-12.
The Tennessee offense was working efficiently from the get-go, as the Vols never posted a hitting percentage below .300 in any given set. This figure starkly contrasts with the Pack’s hitting percentage as a team, which registered at .222 for the overall match.
NC State showed some resilience in the second set, managing to at least make it a close scoreline, but it ultimately fell into a 2-0 set deficit. The third and final set was the nail in the coffin for the Wolfpack’s time in Knoxville, as State’s inconsistency on offense reared its head once more. Although Evans was the only NC State player to get double-digit kills against the Vols, she also brought her error total to seven for the match as the Volunteers delivered a 25-16 thrashing to seal the deal.
The Pack sets its sights towards Raleigh as it prepares to take on the Wofford Terriers at home on Friday, Sept. 3. The game will start at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum.
