NC State volleyball hoped its home court would bring relief after back-to-back conference losses, but Miami’s disciplined play handed the Pack another loss.
“That team just doesn’t make a lot of errors,” said head coach Megan Wargo-Kearney.
NC State (7-6, 0-3 ACC) fell in three sets to No. 22 Miami (13-1, 3-0 ACC) despite a strong day from freshman outside hitter Rebecca Ring, who had 12 kills on 31 attempts. On the defensive side, the team could not keep up with the Hurricanes’ attack, which hit .290 on 100 attempts.
Against North Carolina, Ring had 17 kills, a career-high. She adds another dimension to the NC State attack this year if she can keep things going.
“You saw Rebecca Ring take some pretty big swings tonight,” Wargo-Kearney said.
The Wolfpack looked like it could keep up with the Hurricanes early in the game, but still lost the first set 25-16. NC State wasn’t creating its own chances, and Miami gave the team nothing to work with.
“Miami makes service errors, but they don’t make a lot of errors in other areas,” Wargo-Kearney said.
NC State found itself down big in the second set, just like the first one. This is where the team’s persistence showed up, and a block from freshman opposite hitter Jordan Smith to close the lead to two points triggered a roar from the crowd.
Reynolds Coliseum was packed for the game, and even men’s basketball head coach Will Wade made an appearance.
“It always gives us something when we have this many people in the stadium,” Wargo-Kearney said.
Unfortunately, it didn’t give the team enough to pull through, and the Wolfpack went on to lose the set 25-20.
In the third set, senior outside hitter Courtney Bryant made her 500th career kill for the Wolfpack, which was awarded with applause at the next timeout.
“It’s a special night, and she’s come a long way,” Wargo-Kearney said.
Back-to-back kills from Ring tied the set at 21. It was the closest the Wolfpack had been to taking a set all night, and the message from the coaching staff was clear.
“Keep going for it,” Wargo-Kearney said. “Take big swings.”
That’s exactly what Ring did, but two service errors gave Miami a lead, which took the match with two more kills from their outside hitters.
“We missed that serve at the end,” Wargo-Kearney said. “She was going for it.”
That’s all you can ask from any of the seven freshmen on the team. Even though the team isn’t in a good spot in the ACC standings, there is a belief that this group will continue to develop throughout this season and into the next one.
“They want to grow,” Wargo-Kearney said.
Next up, the Wolfpack aims to earn its first win in conference play on Sunday at 1 p.m. as it hosts the Florida State Seminoles.
