North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Virginia Tech (Dig Pink match)
Volleyball Falls to Virginia Tech
10/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State volleyball was defeated by Virginia Tech tonight in three sets. The loss drops the Wolfpack to 12-11 overall and 2-9 in ACC play, but brings the Hokies to 14-7 and 5-6 in conference.
Margaret Salata was the only Pack player in double-figures offensively, scoring 10 kills in the match. Brie Merriwether and Luciana Shafer also each contributed nine kills, while Megan Cyr paced the squad with 30 assists.
Kelly Wood had an outstanding night defensively, corralling a season-high 21 digs. Salata continued blocking well for the Wolfpack, notching three block assists. In addition, senior Alex Smith earned two solo and two assisted blocks to go along with seven digs.
The Pack jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the first set behind Salata and Smith kills, coupled with Hokie errors. However, Virginia Tech rallied back to knot the score at nine before taking a lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the set, at 10-11. NC State played well offensively in the set, hitting at a .219 clip. However, the effort was not enough to keep pace with the Hokies, who held an impressive .400 attack percentage in the game, and eventually took the set 22-25.
NC State’s offense hit a bit of a snag in the second set, where the squad hit .114 despite six Shafer kills. The Pack was never able to gain a lead, and ended up falling by a score of 19-25.
The third set was the closest of the match, featuring eight tied scores and four lead changes. The Wolfpack fell behind early, but came back to take its first lead 5-4 thanks to a Smith kill. Following a 6-6 tie, NC State scored four-straight points, taking a 9-6 lead. Virginia Tech then responded with its own run, inducing yet another tie, 10-10. After back-to-back Pack errors, head coach Bryan Bunn opted to use the squad’s first timeout of the set. It was not enough to cool the Virginia Tech offense, though, and the Hokies took the final set 20-25.
Felicia Willoughby paced Virginia Tech in the match, scoring 15 kills and hitting at a .481 attack percentage.
NC State hits the road next weekend, traveling to Maryland and Boston College. The squad will take on the Terrapins Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., and the Eagles Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. Both contests will be available on Gametracker via GoPack.com.
