North Carolina State University Athletics
Volleyball Falls at North Carolina, 3-0
9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
Chapel Hill, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team lost its conference opener on Friday, Sept. 15, to rival North Carolina, 3-0, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Chrissy Zirpolo led the Pack with six kills, 11 digs and four service aces. Jessica Williams added 10 kills and two blocks, while Allison Davis put up 28 assists and six digs. Keshia Raibon offered eight kills and eight digs of her own. With the loss, the red and white fall to 2-8 (0-1 ACC) on the season, while the Tar Heels improve to 3-7 (0-1 ACC).
Despite being ahead for the majority of game one, NC State couldn’t maintain its healthy lead. Holding a 7-3 advantage over the Tar Heels, the Wolfpack gradually set itself apart and hushed the home crowd. North Carolina, however, kept coming back. Tying the score at 17-all, UNC added two more points to take a 19-17 advantage. Following an NC State timeout, North Carolina built its lead to 27-20. The red and white made one final run, before the Tar Heels ended the game at 30-22.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair with 10 score ties and four lead changes. NC State tied the score at 20-all then called a timeout. Following the break UNC rattled off five-straight points to build an insurmountable 25-20 lead and never looked back. Zirpolo put up two service aces in a row before adding a kill to shrink the Tar Heel lead to 25-23. Several points later, Raibon drilled a kill to the back right corner to put the score at 27-25 in UNC’s favor. With North Carolina serving for the game, Williams and Ashley Wallace laid a block to lengthen play, but UNC grabbed the next point and ended the game 30-27.
The Tar Heels drew first blood in game three and quickly worked at the Pack’s youth and inexperience by forcing the red and white to commit errors. With North Carolina holding a 9-4 lead, NC State called a timeout and responded with its best play of the game, chipping away at the Tar Heel lead and working its way back into the game for several minutes. Following numerous back-and-forth volleys, North Carolina’s depth and experience took the upper hand and amassed a healthy 10-point lead before the Pack called a timeout at 25-15. When play resumed the Tar Heels quickly grabbed five consecutive points to end the game, 30-15, and shut the door on the match.
NC State will return to the courts next weekend with two ACC road matches. The Pack will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va., before battling the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m.
