No. 7 Louisville’s defense proved to be too much for NC State volleyball, earning a sweep and ending a grueling stretch for the Wolfpack in which four of its last five opponents were ranked in the top 10.
The Wolfpack (11-12, 4-9 ACC) looked to break through the Cardinals’ (19-4, 11-2 ACC) tough defense, but they stood tall, finishing the night with nine blocks and 47 digs, holding the Pack without a set win.
“Our goal was to just keep switching it up; we knew they were going to be a good defensive team,” said senior outside hitter Courtney Bryant.
Bryant led the team with 13 kills and didn’t plan to let up, while freshman outside hitter Rebecca Ring added nine, combining for 22 of NC State’s 39 kills to keep the score close. Despite Louisville’s five blocks in the first set, the Pack looked to keep the pressure on, trying to give the Cardinals’ defense a test.
“Coming off the first set, we were like, ‘let’s keep swinging,’ ” Bryant said.
Despite the constant battle, it was the small mistakes for the Pack’s offense — thanks to Louisville’s strong defense — that decided the game. Louisville’s defense left NC State having to take some tough shots, leading to 19 attacking errors along with six service errors, earning it the victory.
Despite the loss, the Pack kept it close against a resilient team to close its top-10 stretch, keeping it close with Louisville through the first set, only trailing by one midway through the first set.
With the game on the line, the Pack created its own 4-0 run to put the pressure on the Cardinals, and brought the fans in Reynolds to their feet.
“You get better playing good teams the more you play good teams, and we were doing that all night,” Wargo-Kearney said.
Only two of the Wolfpack’s final seven opponents are currently in the top 25. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy for NC State.
“We have a tough Notre Dame team coming in on Sunday, who has been playing these teams really tough,” said head coach Megan Wargo-Kearney.
NC State looks to turn these lessons into results in its next game, where it’ll take on the Fighting Irish on Nov. 9 in Reynolds. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
