The fans came for a party, but the concert just wasn't that good.
That about sums up the night for the NC State volleyball team as it got swept by the North Carolina Tar Heels in front of a packed house in Reynolds Coliseum.
Perhaps the most pivotal moment of the match came at the end of the first set, when the Wolfpack (11-10, 5-5 ACC) held a 24-22 lead with two set points opportunities, but the Tar Heels (12-8, 4-5 ACC) scored four straight points out of a timeout, stealing the set right from under the Pack's nose. Afterwards, Carolina didn't look back, winning the second and third sets comfortably, handing the red-and-white its third straight loss.
"We had our opportunities, especially set one; we were where we want to be, we didn't execute, and it was obvious," said head coach Luka Slabe. "Set two and set three, there were times where we were right there… We let it slip again in the same part of the game; passing and offense gave us hope and then took away more opportunities for us to score more points."
NC State found itself trailing for a large portion of the first set but finally took an 18-17 lead and had a chance to take the set up 24-22. However, the Heels took perhaps the world's best timeout and scored four straight points afterwards to stun the Pack and take a 1-0 set lead.
The two teams went back and forth again to start the second set. The Pack held a slim lead to begin, but UNC took the lead at 12-11 and didn't stop there, outscoring NC State 15-6 over the latter half to win 25-17 and take a commanding 2-0 lead.
It was do or die for the Pack in the third set. With both teams exchanging point streaks, it seemed as though NC State might've avoided the sweep, especially after trailing the Heels by just one point for a large stretch. However, Carolina turned on the burners at just the right time, winning six straight points thanks to some devastating kills and fierce defense, putting away the Pack with a third set score of 25-18.
Graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic led the Pack in kills, putting up 13 on the night. Besides Bukilic, however, there weren't many other standouts for the red-and-white on the statsheet. As per usual, senior setter Kristen McDaniel led the effort in assists and recorded 11 digs while graduate libero Priscilla Hernandez led the squad in digs, tallying 14.
Although NC State didn't play nearly as well as it could have in the second and third sets, one can't help but look back at the end of the first set as a turning point. Just one point away from going up 1-0, the Pack couldn't close it out and the game went downhill from there.
"Any time you're up 24-22 and then you let it slip, that's a very tough thing for a team," Slabe said. "It was not like it was completely one-way traffic for another two sets. We didn't back down, we did compete, but [UNC] right now is just a better volleyball team than we are. They're doing everything on a little higher level, and we need to learn from that and keep pushing."
While tough to look for positives in a disappointing match like this, it's worth noting that Reynolds Coliseum was one of the most crowded it has been in a while for a volleyball match. The fans always show out when the red-and-white take on its rival from Chapel Hill, and while they didn't get the result they wanted, the fans proved they always show out to support the Pack, no matter the sport.
"Thank you to our fans for showing up," Slabe said. "I wish we would be able to reward them with a better result, but we plead with them to trust us, to keep supporting us, because we're trending the right way even though right now we're in a little rough spot the last couple weeks. We have a very exciting young group… This team's gonna continue getting better."
Another ACC showdown at Reynolds Coliseum is set for Friday, Oct. 28 as Clemson comes to town. First serve against the Tigers is set for 7 p.m.
https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/nc-state-volleyball-swept-by-unc-in-front-of-big-reynolds-crowd/article_a526c86c-51af-11ed-abf5-0b05cffab772.html