The North Carolina State women’s volleyball team (14-2, 6-1 ACC) defeated Virginia Tech (7-10, 1-6 ACC) 3-0 on Friday night in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The Hokies got off to a strong start, taking a 14-8 lead in the first set with the help of four UNC service errors.
After a service error by UNC freshman defensive specialist Julia Bollinger, the Tar Heels quickly scored three points, culminating with blocks from graduate middle blocker Alexis Engelbrecht and graduate outside hitter Emani Foster. This brought the score closer to 3 points.
Virginia Tech responded to North Carolina’s short runs, but a timeout brought UNC back to life. The score was 21-15 to the Hokies, and the Tarheels went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Senior outside hitter Marbrey Schaffmaster drove the scoring with two aces and a kill.
However, this set was a battle. After Virginia Tech took several points to set up match point, UNC defended four set points and set up one of the set points from a kill from a shuffmaster to the middle of the court. At set point, Virginia Tech returned a long ball to the net and freshman middle blocker Jackie Taylor scrambled for a block to clinch the first set 28-26 Tar Heels.
The second set started with both teams trading points. Virginia Tech gained some momentum with their ace, but UNC fell back and tied the set at 12-12.
UNC was able to stay within the set due to the Hokies’ tenacity on out-of-bounds saves and struggled to find kills. They finished off a 6-3 run with a strong block, prompting a UNC timeout.
However, just like in the first set, the Hokies stalled at 21 points and allowed North Carolina to come back. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Thorpe led the Tar Heels with five or six kills on the night, and sophomore outside hitter Safi Hampton had a goal to give UNC second place. They won the set 25-23.
Even after dropping two sets, the Hokies didn’t give up. Foster and Hampton’s net presence kept UNC in the lead early in the set, but a series of UNC errors gave Virginia Tech a three-point lead.
