NC State volleyball falls 3-1 to Wake Forest in a tough battle

The NC State volleyball team lost to Wake Forest 3-1 on the road, on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The loss ends the Wolfpack’s (10-7, 4-2 ACC) three-game win streak, while the Demon Deacons (12-5, 4-2 ACC) extend their win streak after defeating UNC on Friday, Oct. 7. After losing the first two sets, the Pack rallied and won the third only to fall in the fourth and final set to a conference rival. 

The first set started out in the Wolfpack’s favor as the team took a 5-1 lead, and junior setter Naomi Cabello got the first service ace to make the score 8-4. Wake Forest soon tied it at 10-10, and from there on it was both teams trading points back and forth. The Deacs had 15 kills in the set to the Pack’s 12, but freshman outside hitter Ava Brizard and graduate opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic ended the set with three kills each. 

The second set was a battle for both teams as there were 17 scoring ties. There was no real momentum on either side of the net, and neither team could keep a lead. This set required extra points, and the Deacs took the 2-0 lead by winning 26-24. 

Senior setter Kristen McDaniel led the Wolfpack in assists with 15 by the beginning of the third set, and sophomore outside hitter Martyna Leoniak took the team lead with nine kills. During the third set, the momentum was in State’s hands. The team went on a 4-0 run near the end and knocked a set off of Wake with a score of 25-22.  

Both teams were digging machines throughout all four sets. Wake led and finished the match with 79 digs, while State finished with 59. Brizard recorded her second service ace of the match to make the score 7-6 in favor of the Pack, but Wake took over very quickly. The Deacs went on a 5-0 scoring streak to make the game 12-9, and State could not catch up as Wake won the final set 25-18. 

Three State players ended the match with more than 10 kills: Leoniak with 15, Bukilic with 13 and Brizard with 12. Brizard also tallied 13 digs and Cabello had 18, while graduate defensive specialist Priscilla Hernandez also knocked two service aces off of the Deacs. 

The Wolfpack will come back to Reynolds Coliseum on Friday, Oct. 14 to play Syracuse at 7 p.m.