The NC State volleyball team split its doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Reynolds Coliseum, sweeping the ECU Pirates 3-0 and coming up short in a hard-fought 3-1 loss to the Colorado State Rams.
The Wolfpack’s attack against ECU (0-3) was not quite as well-oiled as it was in its 3-0 dismantling of Wofford just a day prior, as it committed 20 attack errors. However, with graduate opposite hitter Melissa Evans leading the charge, the Pack (2-4) still made quick work of East Carolina, winning the trio of sets 25-18, 25-14 and 25-13, respectively. Evans accumulated 14 kills in the match compared to just two errors, resulting in a dominant .545 hitting percentage against the Pirates. Senior outside hitter Jade Parchment and freshman middle blocker Jada Allen both notched double-digit kills as well.
Allen’s contributions in the win over the Pirates were particularly noteworthy considering that she is just a freshman. Through six matches, Allen leads the team in blocks per set and sits fifth on the team in kills per set, showing her ability on both offense and defense.
The victory over ECU was State’s second win of the season, marking a promising turnaround from its 0-3 start to the year. But the latter half of the Wolfpack’s doubleheader looked remarkably similar to the heartbreaking loss it suffered against Texas Tech on Aug. 28 as the Pack fell to CSU (1-3) in four sets, 30-28, 18-25, 25-23, 25-23.
The hard-fought match really could have gone either way, with three of the four sets decided by just two points. The first set turned out to be a bona fide nail-biter, as the two squads engaged in a back-and-forth dog fight for the opening set. The Pack rallied back from a CSU set point thrice before ultimately caving the fourth time around due to a pair of attack errors by Parchment and redshirt junior outside hitter Taylor Rowland, respectively.
NC State rebounded in the second set with some airtight defense and opportunistic attacks. The Pack stayed one step ahead of the Rams throughout the second set, eventually evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 win.
The third set played a big role in swinging the momentum back in Colorado State’s favor. Although NC State kept pace with the Rams from most of the set, CSU ultimately took a 2-1 set lead that seemed to light a fire under the Wolfpack, but NC State ended up blowing a 19-15 lead in the fourth set as Colorado State clinched the match, 25-23.
The Pack did not play poorly against the Rams per se, but NC State’s inability to pull ahead in the match was palpable. Colorado State seemed to control the match throughout as NC State either clawed back into contention or merely scrambled to stay alive.
The Wolfpack will attempt to return to form against the Brown Bears in Piscataway, New Jersey on Friday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.
