The N.C. State volleyball team won a pair of tight matches this weekend in Raleigh, beating Pittsburgh and Maryland to extend its three-match winning streak.
State’s 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Friday was the longest match of the season for the Wolfpack, lasting a thrilling two hours and 19 minutes. This marks only the second time this season that State has been pushed to a fifth set, with the other coming in a loss to Colgate on Sept. 21.
Coming into Friday’s match, Pittsburgh (12-10, 4-5) had lost four of its last five ACC matches. On the other end, the Wolfpack (17-5, 8-2) had won six of its last seven, including three shutouts. But the Pack’s unfamiliarity with the Panthers affected State’s players throughout the match.
“This was the first time that [any of us] had played them,” junior middle blocker Alesha Wilson said. “We went in going off what we learned from the scouting report, and we had to play it by ear.”
From the opening serve, the match was tightly contested. After trailing for much of the opening set, State rallied to take the set 28-26.
The second set was all Pitt, taking the lead early and never letting it go. Blocking was a big part of Pitt’s game plan, racking up nine team blocks through the first two sets. The Panthers grabbed the second set 25-20, tying the score at one set apiece.
“They had a lot of big blockers, so we tried to play around that,” junior hitter Dariyan Hopper said. “[Junior libero Alston Kearns] did a really good job of letting us know when there were two or three blockers and when to tip.”
State adjusted to the Panthers’ formidable frontline and dominated the third set with its attacking mentality. The Pack racked up an incredible .342 kill percentage in the third set and held the Pitt team to only two blocks.
“We knew it was do or die,” junior middle blocker Nikki Glass. “That was the game that we needed to win. If we lost one more [set], there was no way that we could come back.”
But Pitt came out re-energized in the fourth set, blowing State away with a 25-15 victory to send the match to a winner-take-all fifth set.
The decisive final set was filled with errors on both sides, but State managed to regain control and pull off the win.
“In the fifth set, we really maintained our composure,” head coach Bryan Bunn said. “They came out [in the fourth set] and served really tough, and we didn’t respond well, but in the fifth set we bounced back.”
The fifth set could not have been any tighter. Neither team led by more than two. State missed two match point opportunities and had to fight off one from Pitt before finally finishing off the Panthers, 18-16.
Defense played a big factor for the Pack late in the game. In the fifth set alone, State recorded three blocks and forced the Panthers into an atrocious -.053 kill percentage.
“[Our defense] wasn’t there the set and a half, and then we started picking it up,” Bunn said. “In the fifth set, we got a lot of digs and forced them into some errors.”
State finished off its impressive weekend with a 3-1 victory over Maryland on Saturday. The Pack fought off a strong surge from the Terrapins late, but held on for its third consecutive ACC victory.
The Wolfpack and FSU are tied in third place of the ACC standings. UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke hold on to the top two spots in the standings, respectively.
State will head to the state of Florida for its next two matches, the first coming at Miami on Friday and the second on Sunday against Florida State. Sunday’s matchup against the ‘Noles will be a crucial game for the Pack, both in conference rankings and NCAA Tournament hopes.
