North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Virginia
Volleyball Defeated by Virginia
10/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State volleyball dropped a 3-1 match to Virginia tonight in Reynolds Coliseum. The loss brings the Wolfpack to 12-10 on the season and 2-8 in ACC play, but raises the Cavaliers to 10-10 and 3-6 in 2010.
The Pack offense struggled in the match, earning an attack percentage of just .118. However, the squad was able to corral 47 kills, led by junior Luciana Shafer, who earned 13 to go along with two service aces. Margaret Salata paced NC State, hitting at a .500 clip while scoring 12 kills, and senior Alex Smith smashed nine on the night. Also, Megan Cyr dished out 39 of the squad's 44 assists.
Defensively, Smith earned 14 digs to lead the Pack, and libero Kelly Wood added 13 en route to holding the Virginia offense to a .211 attack percentage. Cyr and Salata each contributed one solo block and four block assists, while senior Jana Angel scored three block assists of her own.
Jessica O'Shoney, McKenzie Adams and Simone Asque combined to score 33 of Virginia's 49 team kills.
The match began sloppily, with both teams collecting points off of errors. After a 6-6 tie, the Wolfpack then fell behind 10-14 before calling its first timeout of the match. Out of the timeout, Virginia continued its scoring run of five straight points before committing an error. The Wolfpack fought back, bringing the score to 14-16, forcing Virginia to use a timeout. The Cavalier offense responded, eventually taking the first set by a score of 18-25.
In the second set, NC State jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Virginia was able to get on the board. Following a Smith error, the Cavaliers proceeded to go back-to-back 5-0 runs, making the score 9-12. Behind Smith, Salata and Elena Frac kills, the Pack was able to knot the score at 14 and take a 15-14 lead. To end the set, NC State scored six straight points, winning 25-20, while holding Virginia to a .000 attack percentage.
In the third set, which featured eight ties and four lead changes, the score bounced back-and-forth until nearly the end. After an NC State timeout with the score 18-19, Virginia proceeded to go on a series of runs, the largest of five-straight points, and take the set 20-25.
The Pack fell behind 6-12 in the fourth set, but pulled within five at 10-15. The squad then struggled to find an offensive rhythm, but refused to quit. With the score 11-21, the Wolfpack continued to rattle off points, pulling within six, only to ultimately fall 18-25.
NC State returns to action tomorrow night, Saturday, Oct. 23, to take on Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. It will be the Wolfpack's annual Dig Pink match, where proceeds will benefit breast cancer awareness.
