Wolfpack volleyball falls to Boston College in five sets

NC State volleyball took on the Friday night lights in Reynolds Coliseum against the Boston College Eagles, but subsequently fell in five sets. While the home court was electric, many offensive and service errors cost the Pack greatly and made them fall 3-2.

The Wolfpack (17-6, 7-5 ACC) came into the matchup confident, aiming to have a solid final push through conference play. Despite finishing the matchup leading in kills and digs, the Pack was unable to follow through in multiple important moments, falling to Boston College (16-12, 5-9 ACC).

The first set started off strong for the red-and-white, with graduate setter Kristen McDaniel making good defensive plays in the back court. When junior middle blocker Jada Allen went to the service line, she was able to help lead the Pack on a 6-0 scoring run. The Eagles weren’t an easy target though, taking back the momentum and tying the game at 9-9.

Boston College’s front row was a threat to the Pack’s offense all night, especially in the first set. With 10 block assists and two solo blocks, the Eagles made sure the net was impenetrable. NC State’s offense started to move slower as the first set went on, but through long rallies the team pushed a tie at 22-22. With a 5-0 scoring streak to finish the deal, the Pack took the first set 25-22.

“We were telling the hitters to just keep swinging high,” McDaniel said. “We told everyone else to kind of look at space on the court and tell the hitters what space was available for them…All we kept talking throughout this game was to play clean and to continue to play our game.”

Junior opposite hitter Amanda Rice started the second set miles above the competition with 11 kills and was closely followed by sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard. The Pack was better with its offensive presence at the net, able to get around the Boston College defense more and able to go on multiple scoring runs. Despite holding an 18-8 lead at one time during the set, the Eagles clawed their way back in with a scoring run of their own. Eventually the Wolfpack retook the lead and won the set 25-22.

It was in the third set where the cracks turned into canyons for the Pack — the home side fell behind and constantly played catch-up. Despite the lead the Eagles took, NC State finished the set with the most kills at 17 compared to Boston’s 12. It was service and receiving errors that hurt the red-and-white this set, giving the Eagles free, valuable points.

With 13 ties and seven scoring changes, the fourth set was the slugfest for both sides. Starting off with a 5-1 Boston lead, the Pack was constantly fighting throughout the 25 points. Service errors came back to haunt the Wolfpack and totaled six by the end of the set. Boston College eventually took the set 25-23. e

Once the first point of the fifth set was scored by Boston College, the game was over. The Eagles went on a 5-0 scoring run and never gave the Pack a chance to redeem itself. Boston College took the final set 15-7 — and the game 3-2.

“We're just taking it one at a time,” McDaniel said. “You know, like these are games that we really got to take care of to get to where we want to get.Taking it one at a time and just making sure that we're taking care of what we can't take care of.”

The Wolfpack will take on Syracuse University on Sunday, Nov. 5 with first serve set for 1 p.m.