North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Clemson
Volleyball Falls to Clemson 3-2
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2010
CLEMSON, S.C. -
NC State volleyball fell tonight to Clemson 3-2 in a well-fought match. The loss drops the Wolfpack to 12-8 overall and 2-6 in the ACC, but brings the Tigers to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Luciana Shafer earned her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 19 kills, her best total at NC State, and 14 digs. She also contributed six blocks, all assisted efforts. Freshman Brie Merriwether also had an outstanding offensive night, smashing a career-high 10 kills to go along with eight assisted and two solo blocks.
Megan Cyr dished out 46 assists to lead the Wolfpack offense, and also scored nine kills, a season-high. Defensively, she contributed eight digs and four assisted blocks.
In addition, Jana Angel earned a season-high eight kills while pacing the Pack at a .571 attack percentage. She also added five digs and five assisted blocks in the match. Alex Smith, too, scored eight kills to go along with 11 digs and one service ace.
Defensively, Shafer (14), Smith (11) and Kelly Wood (10) earned double-digit digs.
The five-set match was a back-and-forth battle from the beginning, with a total of 16 ties and seven lead changes throughout.
In the first set, the Pack jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind two Shafer kills and two Tiger errors. However, Clemson fought back to knot the score at 6, and proceeded to take a 15-9 lead. NC State then brought the score to 18-15, forcing Clemson to take a timeout. Following the break, three Pack kills cut the Tiger lead to one point, causing Clemson to call yet another timeout. The Wolfpack continued to fight, pulling back within one, but ended up dropping the set 25-23.
NC State jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, again thanks to two Wolfpack kills and two Clemson errors. The Tigers then rallied, tying the score at 6 and again at 9, 10, 11 and 12. After the 14-13 mark, Clemson rattled off three straight points, forcing NC State head coach Bryan Bunn to call the Pack’s first timeout of the set. From that point, the Wolfpack never regained the lead, losing the frame 25-18.
The Wolfpack came out aggressively in the third set, scoring 13 kills while hitting at a match-high .414 clip. Unlike the first two sets, NC State did not own a lead in third set until 12-11. After gaining that initial lead, the squad fought through three ties, scoring seven straight points to close out the frame, eventually winning by a 25-19 mark.
In the fourth set, the Wolfpack held Clemson to a .053 attack percentage and 10 total kills. After falling behind 6-8, the Pack scored seven straight points to take a 12-8 lead. Clemson then earned a kill, but the Wolfpack again rattled off five straight points, taking a 16-9 lead. NC State continued to ride excellent defense, and ended up winning the set 25-19.
The Pack’s offense struggled in the final set, where the squad grinded out a sub-par .040 attack percentage. After falling behind 3-10, Bunn used a Wolfpack timeout to calm his squad. Out of the timeout, kills by Elena Frac and Smith brought the Pack within six points. Shafer also scored back-to-back kills to make the score 8-13, forcing Clemson to call it’s first timeout of the set. Despite continuing to battle, the squad dropped the deciding frame 8-15.
NC State returns to the court Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. to take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. The match will be available on Gametracker.
