ATLANTA (Oct. 8) — North Carolina State’s volleyball team survived four Georgia Tech match points in the fifth game Friday night, before rallying to knock off the Jackets 18-16 and upset Tech on their home floor. Tech took the first four points in the rally-scoring fifth game, and let leads of 8-4 and 14-12 slip away. The Wolfpack took the match by a count of 3-2, with game scores being 8-15, 15-5, 15-13, 11-15, 18-16.
N.C. State (11-11, 2-4 ACC), which snapped its 21 match Atlantic Coast Conference losing streak last Saturday by defeating Duke in Raleigh, used a balanced offensive attack, which include three players with 20 or more kills, to down the Jackets.
Wolfpack sophomore outside hitter Charece Williams led the way for N.C. State with 25 kills, while Alison Kreager contributed 21, and Tara Greene added 20. Sophomore setter Erin Vesey’s 74 assists helped pave the way for the three attackers.
Georgia Tech’s Maja Pachale put on a show in the losing effort, with one of the best games by any player in Jackets’ history. Pachale set a new school record for kills in a match with 38, including 12 in the third game, while posting an outstanding .423 hitting percentage.
The loss is the third in a row for Tech (12-6, 2-3 ACC), all of which have been league matches at home in O’Keefe Gymnasium, where the Jackets are only 3-6 on the season.
Tech closes out its four-game homestand tomorrow night against Florida State, in a 7:30 p.m. contest at O’Keefe Gymnasium, before hitting the road for four key league matches over the next nineteen days.
