RALEIGH, N.C. — October 1, 2023
Anna DeBeer’s 14 kills and 12 digs were not enough as the No. 5-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team fell 3-1 at NC State.
The Cards fell 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15, snapping a 12-match winning streak in ACC play, although UofL has still won 38 of the last 40 matches in ACC play. Phekran Kong added 11 kills and four blocks and Aiko Jones had seven kills and two blocks. The Cards struggled from the service line with 11 service errors and were held to .164 hitting for the match. Elena Scott had 29 digs for the Cardinals.
NC State hit .338 with eight blocks and three aces. Amanda Rice paced the NCSU offense with 16 kills, hitting .433 adding four blocks.
The Cardinals stay on the road with a match at North Carolina Oct. 6 and at Duke on Oct. 8.
Set by Set Recap
Early in the first set, the teams traded points with neither team establishing more than a one point lead. NC State managed to put three straight together after winning a challenge just before the media time out at 15-12. The Wolfpack spread the lead to five at 18-13 on a block by Amanda Rice to spark a Cardinal timeout. NCSU kept Louisville at arm’s length, going up 22-17 and forcing the Cards to burn their last timeout of the set. The Pack got to set point at 24-18 on a kill by Ava Brizard and then a kill by Madison Williams to take the first set 25-19. It was the first set the Wolfpack has won since 2019. UofL hit .091 to NC State’s .344 with the Cardinal offense led by Phekran Kong’s three kills.
In the second set, Louisville fell behind 13-10 on a kill by Skye Stokes after trading points early in the set. Elena Scott’s serving helped tied the score at 13. NC State had a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. The Cards took their first lead since 7-6 at 19-18 on a kill by Aiko Jones and NC State used its first timeout. The Pack regained the lead at 20-19 on a kill by Courtney Bryant and Louisville called its first timeout. The Cards tied at 20 on a kill by Phekran Kong but two straight kills followed by a block by Amanda Rice took the Pack to the Pack to 24-20. A Cardinal hitting error gave NC State the 25-21 win and a 2-0 set lead going into the break.
The Cardinals built an early lead in the third set at 8-4 on two straight errors by NC State as part of a 3-0 run. After NC State called timeout, the Cards maintained a five-point lead at 13-8 and eventually held on to the 20-15 mark after an ace by Cara Cresse. NC State chipped away at the lead and another kill by Rice drew the Wolfpack within two at 22-20. A kill by Anna DeBeer and a block by Cara Cresse gave the Cards the 25-22 win. UofL hitting improved to .308 and was led by DeBeer’s seven kills. Kong had five kills and two blocks.
In the fourth set, NC State used a 6-1 run in the fourth set to run out to a 15-8 lead. Louisville cut the lead to five later in the set on a NC State service error but could get no closer. The Pack got to set point at 24-15 on a Kristen McDaniel ace. A kill by Amanda Rice, her 16th of the match gave the match to NC State, the program’s first over a Top 5 team.
