Friday, September 21
Raleigh, N.C.
7 P.M.
NC State
6-5, 0-1ACC
1
vs
3
(RV) Louisville
8-4, 1-0ACC
1
2
3
4
F
Lousville
25
28
20
25
3
NC State
19
26
25
18
1
Photo by: Carin Gosnell
Wolfpack’s ACC Home Match Winning Streak Snapped by Louisville in Conference Opener
9/21/2018 10:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team battled but fell to 2017 Co-Champion Louisville, 3-1, in its ACC opener Friday night inside Reynolds Coliseum, as the Wolfpack's 14-match conference winning streak was snapped.
Last season, the Pack compiled a perfect 10-0 record in ACC home matches and won its last four home conference matches in 2016 to own a 14-match streak heading into the opener. The Cardinals are receiving votes for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with an 8-4 (1-0 ACC) mark on the season with all of its losses against ranked opponents.
NC State moves to 6-5 and 0-1 in ACC action on the year, as four of the squad's losses have come against ranked teams or programs receiving votes for the top 25.
Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts...
"It's tough because there are no moral victories, but I do feel like we learned some things tonight and we accomplished some things as we're trying to keep our focus on the process," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "The frustrating part is that we didn't get the outcome we wanted, but we need to keep our focus on what we need to do to continue to grow.
"It's still early, so I have to remind myself that we were still making changes to our lineup when we were in conference play last year and so we have to understand that some good things are going to come, we just have to be patient and trust our process."
Match Rewind
- Louisville opened the match strong with a great first set, as the Cardinals tallied a .375 team attacking percentage en route to the 25-19 win.
- NC State trimmed the deficit to 21-18 after a kill from Melissa Evans, but three consecutive points followed for the Cards as they went on to win the opening grame.
- The second set featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes, as both teams battled to take or regain the advantage.
- Louisville raced out to a 9-3 lead before NC State countered with an 8-2 run to knot the set at 11-11 and force a timeout by the Cardinals.
- Teni Sopitan tallied a pair of kills late in the frame to give the Pack set point at 25-24 and again at 26-25, but UofL responded with three consecutive points to win the second set, 28-26.
- The Cards led early in the third set, but the Wolfpack took control of the frame with seven unanswered points to grab a 19-14 lead and later won the set, 25-20.
- NCSU logged a .227 team attacking percentage in the third set and limited Louisville to a .087 clip.
- In the fourth set, the teams traded runs as the Pack put together four consecutive points and the Cards answered by winning five successive rallies.
- After a kill from Evans to make it 21-18, Louisville won the next four points to close out the set and the match.
Top Performers
- Evans led the Wolfpack offensively with 16 kills, while freshman Jade Parchment and Sopitan each logged 11.
- Junior Lauryn Terry put down seven kills to go along with a match-high .417 attacking percentage.
- Kylie Pickrell, senior setter from Coppell, Texas, dished out 47 assists and collected 13 digs to record her fourth double-double of the season.
- Defensively, senior libero Makenzie Kuchmaner led all players in the match with 28 digs and defensive specialist Grace Irvin added 11.
- Pickrell and Sopitan each charted a pair of solo blocks.
Up Next
NC State will return to action Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when the Wolfpack welcomes Notre Dame to Reynolds Coliseum.
Last season, the Pack compiled a perfect 10-0 record in ACC home matches and won its last four home conference matches in 2016 to own a 14-match streak heading into the opener. The Cardinals are receiving votes for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with an 8-4 (1-0 ACC) mark on the season with all of its losses against ranked opponents.
NC State moves to 6-5 and 0-1 in ACC action on the year, as four of the squad's losses have come against ranked teams or programs receiving votes for the top 25.
Quoting Hampton-Keith
Overall thoughts...
"It's tough because there are no moral victories, but I do feel like we learned some things tonight and we accomplished some things as we're trying to keep our focus on the process," said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. "The frustrating part is that we didn't get the outcome we wanted, but we need to keep our focus on what we need to do to continue to grow.
"It's still early, so I have to remind myself that we were still making changes to our lineup when we were in conference play last year and so we have to understand that some good things are going to come, we just have to be patient and trust our process."
Match Rewind
- Louisville opened the match strong with a great first set, as the Cardinals tallied a .375 team attacking percentage en route to the 25-19 win.
- NC State trimmed the deficit to 21-18 after a kill from Melissa Evans, but three consecutive points followed for the Cards as they went on to win the opening grame.
- The second set featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes, as both teams battled to take or regain the advantage.
- Louisville raced out to a 9-3 lead before NC State countered with an 8-2 run to knot the set at 11-11 and force a timeout by the Cardinals.
- Teni Sopitan tallied a pair of kills late in the frame to give the Pack set point at 25-24 and again at 26-25, but UofL responded with three consecutive points to win the second set, 28-26.
- The Cards led early in the third set, but the Wolfpack took control of the frame with seven unanswered points to grab a 19-14 lead and later won the set, 25-20.
- NCSU logged a .227 team attacking percentage in the third set and limited Louisville to a .087 clip.
- In the fourth set, the teams traded runs as the Pack put together four consecutive points and the Cards answered by winning five successive rallies.
- After a kill from Evans to make it 21-18, Louisville won the next four points to close out the set and the match.
Top Performers
- Evans led the Wolfpack offensively with 16 kills, while freshman Jade Parchment and Sopitan each logged 11.
- Junior Lauryn Terry put down seven kills to go along with a match-high .417 attacking percentage.
- Kylie Pickrell, senior setter from Coppell, Texas, dished out 47 assists and collected 13 digs to record her fourth double-double of the season.
- Defensively, senior libero Makenzie Kuchmaner led all players in the match with 28 digs and defensive specialist Grace Irvin added 11.
- Pickrell and Sopitan each charted a pair of solo blocks.
Up Next
NC State will return to action Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when the Wolfpack welcomes Notre Dame to Reynolds Coliseum.
Team Stats
LOU
ST
Kills
60
53
Errors
23
27
Attempts
163
163
Hitting %
.227
.160
Points
76.0
63.0
Assists
59
48
Aces
3
1
Blocks
13.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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