Volleyball Edged in Hard Fought Battle at Pittsburgh, 3-2

Friday, October 28

Pittsburgh, Pa. (Fitzgerald Field House)

7 P.M.

NC State

13-10, 6-5ACC

Pitt

16-7, 7-4ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
NC State	25	16	25	33	13	2
Pitt	21	25	15	35	15	3

Photo by: Karl DeBlaker

Volleyball Edged in Hard Fought Battle at Pittsburgh, 3-2

10/28/2016 10:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Wolfpack sets season high with 18 blocks

PITTSBURGH – The NC State volleyball team recorded a season-high 18 blocks, but it wasn't enough Friday night as the Pitt Panthers rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn a 3-2 (25-21, 16-25, 25-15, 33-35, 13-15) victory inside Fitzgerald Field House.

The Wolfpack falls to 13-10 and 6-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, while the Panthers improve to 16-7 and 7-4 in league action.

Worth Noting
- NC State's 18 blocks in the contest bested its previous season high of 13.5 and was also the second most in the program's rally-scoring era.
- Kaitlyn Kearney headlined the Wolfpack's blocking efforts with a match high and season high 11 blocks, tied for the fourth most in a match by any player in the ACC this season.
- Sophomore Sarah Konchan made her first career start in the match.

Quoting Hampton-Keith
Thoughts on the match…
"While the outcome of that match hurts I can't say enough about how proud I am of this team and how they performed tonight," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "We had several people step up and give everything they had to the team tonight. We're at that point in the season where we're managing lots of things outside our control and the maturity and poise that we showed tonight was impressive.

"As close as the scores were, it doesn't even begin to paint the picture of what a truly great match that was."

Match Rewind
- NC State made a #STATEment in the first set with a season-high seven blocks en route to a 25-21 win.
- The Wolfpack jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the frame after a block assist from Kearney and Konchan.
- Another block by the duo capped a 3-0 run, as NC State grabbed an 11-8 advantage forcing a Pitt timeout.
- With the score even at 19-19, Konchan and Kearney put down kills to ignite a 6-2 run for the Wolfpack to close out the set, 25-21.
- Pittsburgh countered in the second set with a win to even the match score at one.
- The Panthers opened the frame with six consecutive points and the Wolfpack was not able to recover despite its best attempts.
- NC State returned the favor in the third set with a match-high .433 attacking percentage to earn a 25-15 win.
- The Wolfpack raced out to a 13-5 lead in the frame and never trailed.
- In the fourth set, NCSU looked to run away with the set and clinch the match, but Pitt had other ideas and put together a furious comeback.
- Leading 24-18, Pitt fought off six consecutive match point attempts by the Wolfpack to even the score at 24.
- From there a seesaw battle ensued before the Panthers closed out the set with three unanswered points to force a fifth set, 35-33. The score was tied 10 times in the frame with the first at 24-24.
- NC State rushed to a 6-3 lead in the fifth forcing a Pitt timeout. After a 3-0 run to take a 12-11 lead, the Panthers ended the match by winning four of the next five rallies to earn a 15-13 fifth-set win and 3-2 victory in the overall match.

Top Performers
- Reigning ACC Player of the Week Julia Brown led the Wolfpack offensively with 22 kills, while Teni Sopitan swatted 12 kills.
- Freshman Lauryn Terry had eight kills on 15 swings in the contest without an error to record a .533 attacking percentage.
- At setter, Maggie Speaks dished out 51 assists and also had 13 digs to notch her 10^th double-double of the season and third consecutive.
- Defensively, senior libero Rachel Eppley contributed 15 digs and sophomore Kassie Kasper tallied a season-high 12 digs.
- Kearney charted a match-high 11 blocks and

Up Next
NC State returns to action Sunday afternoon when it takes on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. inside Cassell Coliseum and it will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra.