On a Wednesday when four State senior volleyball players said their last goodbyes to Reynolds Coliseum, the team pulled out its biggest victory of the season, trumping North Carolina in a back and forth five-set affair.
The match started off as many have for the Wolfpack this season, with the team dropping the first set in close fashion. The Heels jumped out to an early 8-2 lead behind six UNC kills and two State errors. They held this margin until 17-11, when the Pack was forced to use a timeout.
Following the timeout, the team came out firing, fighting back to 22-19. However, North Carolina was able to pull out the set 25-22. Coach Charita Stubbs said despite the early play, the team kept faith in its game plan.
“We continued to fight,” Stubbs said. “And that’s a sign of maturity by our team and just a full on belief in what we’re doing.”
The second set saw different results for a Pack team that had not won a set in ACC play since Oct. 2. The two teams stayed close, with the set seeing 10 tied scores, including a tie at 23-23.
However, two blocks from junior middle blocker Jana Angel and sophomore outside hitter Isis Gardner sealed the deal for the 25-23 set win. State was also able to pull out a close third set which featured seven tied scores to earn a 25-22 set win.
Carolina did not give up in the fourth set, hitting a match high .344 while the Pack hit a match low -.091. The Tar Heels grabbed the set 25-10.
“Carolina pretty much handed it to us in the fourth set,” Stubbs said. “But we didn’t let it bother us or shake us at all.”
The fifth and deciding set saw just one tied score at 14-14. Back-to-back kills from junior setter Alex Smith and sophomore outside hitter Kelly Wood gave the team something it had not earned all year: a win. Junior defensive specialist Taylor Pritchard said the feeling she had when the last point was won was remarkable.
“I don’t think I have ever rushed the court as fast as I did when that last point went down,” Pritchard said. “It was an amazing feeling.”
Smith attributed the victory to the team finally playing a consistent game.
“We just played our game,” Smith said. “We didn’t let them affect us at all, so that’s why we were able to pull out this win.”
Senior middle blocker Lisa Kretchman and senior outside hitter Keri DeMar led the Pack in kills with 15 and 14 respectively.
Angel said she will never forget the victory.
“It feels phenomenal,” Angel said. “The combination of beating Carolina, saying good-bye to our seniors and it being the last home match, all those emotions rolled into one, I don’t think anything will ever top that memory.”
