North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Miami
Volleyball Falls In Yet Another 5-Set Thriller
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. - In its fourth consecutive five-set match in ACC play, NC State's volleyball team fell to No. 21 Miami on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum, with a narrow 15-12 defeat in the fifth set.
Miami (14-1 overall, 5-1 ACC) entered the match ranked No. 21 in the AVCA collegiate volleyball ranking and with just one loss on the season, a 3-0 loss at Florida State on Sept. 14. The Hurricanes had played just one five-set match all season, in a 3-2 win over LSU on Aug. 27.
For the Wolfpack, it was the fifth of the season and the fourth in a row since ACC play began.
"We fought hard," said second-year head coach Bryan Bunn. "We had our opportunities, but we just didn't take advantage of them."
The Wolfpack (14-5, 2-4) had three match-point chances in the fourth set, but Miami came back to take a 27-25 win.
In the fourth set, Miami owned a 20-16 lead until senior Becah Fogle and Dariyan Hopper scored with overhand smashes to close the gap to two points. The Wolfpack tied the score, grabbed a 25-24 lead on a kill by senior Margaret Salata and was serving for match point.
But a service error, a Miami block at the net and a kills by Hurricane senior Ali Becker gave the Hurricanes the set victory, 27-25.
"We were up 2-1 and serving for match point," Bunn said. "But we weren't ready when they stepped it up and came back against us. We're still a young team, and that's something we have to learn how to do better."
The teams had 11 ties and four lead changes in the decisive fifth set, but the Hurricanes scored three straight points to break a 12-all tie and win the match, 15-12.
The Hurricanes raced through the opening set with a 25-16 win, as the Wolfpack made 10 errors on 43 attacks. State hit just .047 in the opening set.
The second set was a different story, as the energized Pack made just six errors and had a .297 hitting percentage. The Pack led most of the way in the tight set, getting blocks in the middle from Salata and Merriwether and a combined nine kills from freshman Nicole Glass and senior Luciana Shafer.
After the break, the Wolfpack came back out strong again. Trailing 7-6, the Pack scored five consecutive points to take an 11-7 lead, forcing Miami head coach Nicole Lantange Welch to call timeout. The Hurricanes scored two quick points, but State built its lead back to 19-16.
Hopper made the play of the match, bouncing a rebounded attack off her head and into Miami's side of the court to give the Wolfpack a 23-21 advantage.
Freshman Nicole Glass had a block at the net to give the Wolfpack its 24th point and her block at the net gave State the 25-23 victory.
Glass finished the match with a career-high 21 kills and 21 points. Hopper added another 11 kills and 12 points. Senior Kelly Wood led the Pack with 22 digs, followed closely by junior Megan Cyr with 21 and freshman Alston Kearns with 18.
Cyr also added 47 assists.
Overall, the Pack had a hitting percentage of .186 to Miami's .200.
Sunday at 1 p.m., the Wolfpack faces Florida State at Reynolds Coliseum, in the first televised match in program history. The contest will be shown live on the ACC's Regional Sports Network, including Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Florida, Comcast Sports Net Mid-Atlantic, New England Sports Network (NESN) and Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
