The N.C. State volleyball team earned its biggest win of the season on Sunday against in-state rival Duke. This was the Blue Devils’ first loss this season to an ACC opponent.
State entered Sunday’s contest coming off a win against another in-state rival, Wake Forest. The Pack took care of the Demon Deacons with ease, winning 3-0. Duke also had momentum entering the matchup in Raleigh, as they shut out archrival UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday.
The Wolfpack (14-4, 5-1 ACC) has won its last five games in ACC play and now sits fourth in the conference rankings. The loss drops the Devils (14-4, 5-1 ACC) to the number two slot, leaving Miami as the only team without a loss in ACC play.
Duke started the game with ferocity and took the first set, but the Pack responded and started the second set with a great lead. State carried its momentum throughout the rest of the match, leading to an eventual 3-1 victory.
“We came out with a second energy in set two,” head coach Bryan Bunn said. “We had no energy, but we picked it up and that made all the difference.”
State’s offense was on fire Sunday, with 10 players recording 10 or more kills. Junior outside hitter Dariyan Hopper led the attack with 18 kills and a 48.4 kill percentage.
“[Hopper] was really locked in,” Bunn said. “She got a kill almost every time she swung from the right side.”
The offense flowed through sophomore setter Tanna Aljoe, who tallied a game-high 56 assists. Not only was she a force on offense, but she also shined on defense, leading the game with 16 digs.
Duke jumped to an 8-2 lead in the first set mostly due to the outstanding blocking by a tall front line. In their previous match with UNC-CH, the Devils recorded a season high 14 blocks.
“Duke’s a big team, and they put up a big block,” said senior middle blocker Brie Merriwether. “We knew we weren’t going to be able to hit the ball straight down.”
The Pack adjusted and made a run at the end of the first set to bring the score back within two points, but the Devils held on to take the first set.
Carrying the momentum from the end of the first, State made a statement by opening the second set with a big lead and finished it off with a 10-4 run.
“We started picking up momentum in the end of the first set,” said junior outside hitter Dariyan Hopper. “Even though it might have been too late, we knew what we needed to do to finish this game.”
State was able to win the third set without much problem but was challenged in the fourth set. There were 14 ties and three lead changes in the final set alone. Four service errors from the Pack kept things close in crucial moments, but Bunn said these mistakes are part of the game.
“We serve aggressively,” Bunn said. “We had some misses, but we score points on our serve. That’s a good balance.”
State kicks off a two-game road trip Friday against Virginia Tech, with a match at Virginia following on Saturday.
“You can’t get a big head just because you beat a great team,” Aljoe said. “[Virginia Tech and Viginia are] going to be ready to take us on. We need to bring the same intensity that we did today, and we’ll be fine.”
