versus 
What's better from a design standpoint, making the VT logo humongous or having it be a different height than the NC State logo? I went for the former, obviously, but I don't know.
Anyway, yay, double digits. This is the first of two write-ups tonight from the ACC. The ACC's an intriguing conference to look at in terms of NCAA tournament potential. Currently (which means almost nothing), I've got the Wolfpack in and the Hokies among the first few out. No matter what, both sides have a lot to gain here in this match between two teams very close to each other in the RPI. I don't think the ACC will get five tournament bids unless someone, somewhere else, goes in the tank, and these two teams are undoubtedly numbers four and five in the league. The committee have to say they don't think like that, but conference affiliations mean something. You're lying to yourself if you think they don't. A team with the same resume (or a worse one) in the Big Ten will be considered better than an ACC or SEC team. And I don't actually have a problem with that. A middling conference record itself certainly means more in the Big Ten or Pac-12 than it does here.
The webcast was late getting started, and the first few points got missed. As it came on, the Hokies led 3-1 following three unforced errors on the Wolfpack side before NC State finally managed to sideout. The Wolfpack equalised at 3-all following a long rally, and took the lead on a wide hit from Sam Gosling on the VA Tech side. Gosling got pretty much all the sets in the early going. The Wolfpack left side gave the point right back to side the Hokies out. The teams traded points a little, until the Hokies went up two again at 7-5 by powering through the middle block for a kill against Tanna Aljoe, a 5-foot-9 setter. That's a matchup you want ten times out of ten. Then Virginia Tech libero Megan Beckwith scored an ace off her counterpart Alston Kearns making it 8-5. Another unforced error, and all of a sudden it was 9-5 Hokies. NC State head coach Bryan Bunn called time.
The 'pack sided out after the timeout, with Dariyan Hopper from the left side. Aljoe kept going back to her, and she kept swinging, bringing NC State back within a point at 9-8. Kathryn Caine got the Hokies the sideout from the right, to make it 10-8. It looked like NC State had a chance to keep the ball alive on the next rally, with Kearns making a diving pancake, but no one could make another contact. After the sideout, a service ace for Aljoe made it a 1-point margin again, at 11-10. Gosling's long hit on reception at 12-11 tied the match again, and it was Virginia Tech coach Chris Riley's turn to call time.
The Hokies followed that cardinal rule of volleyball, getting the sideout after the timeout. NC State got the point back, and then 13-all was the longest rally of the match so far. It ended as the Hokies appeared to keep a ball alive that was bound long, but they got the point anyway, with Gosling finding the floor on the other side. A reception miscue from Kearns equalled a service ace for VA Tech setter Jordan Fish, and the Hokies again held the 'true' lead. A kill off the block and out for Caine put Virginia tech up three at 16-13. A service error then got the Wolfpakc on the board again. A big solo block for Meredith Richardson, a 6-foot-4 tower, made it 16-15. Gosling sided the Hokies out again to keep them in the lead. The next important rally was 19-17, ending with a point for the Hokies as Fish got the kill off an overpass/joust. Bunn called his second timeout there, down three late.
The first rally back was a long one, including a great dig from Amanda McKinzie on the Hokie side. It ended with a net violation called against middle blocker Brie Merriwether. The Hokies quickly extended to five on the next rally, but the Wolfpack ran back to within two on 22-20 thanks to some strong blocking. That led to the fourth and final overall timeout of the set.
The Hokies got the big sideout after the timeout, as Hopper's swing drilled the net on the left side. It came off an off-balance bump set from Kearns, so really the play didn't have much of a chance no matter what. Victoria Hamsher got the kill on the right-side slide play that led to set point on 24-21. A right-side double block sealed it for the Hokies without needing a reception point.
The Hokie started off set 2 on the board first, getting the sideout and then a back-row violation called against Aljoe to get the first two points. The teams traded little mini 'runs' then, with the Wolfpack equalling things at 2 and the Hokies then responding to go back up 4-2, and the Wolfpack tying it again at 4-all. The Hokies then edged ahead more slowly, taking a point here and there on blocking and serving strength (which you'd figure would favour NC State more), taking a three-point lead at 10-7 and a four-point lead at 12-8. When the deficit reached five after a midde kill for Hamsher off the block and down, Bunn saw fit to call time.
NC State got a couple of points on the bump after the timeout to draw back within three. For a while thereafter, the two sides just traded points, which obviously suited the Hokies just fine. And it was Virginia Tech who scored on serve again, to go up 18-13, as Caine and Gosling got the double block up in front of Merriwether. But the Wolfpack kept fighting, and Richardson's middle kill brought them within three at 19-16. That prompted the Hokies to call time.
Things got a little confusing there. This was a pretty poor-quality webcast, with a disappearing on-screen scoreboard, audio cutting in and out, replays keeping entire rallies from being actually shown….ESPN (or even just ESPN-branded) webcasts usually do a much better job. The scoreboard, as it cut in and out, showed some different and contradictory scores, so I'm not entirely sure what happened. My relative unfamiliarity with the teams (and the fact that the webcast didn't have even a brief pre-amble) sure didn't help either.
A very long rally on 21-18 led to a point for the Wolfpack that got them within two at 21-19. They gave the point back immediately with a serving miscue, and you could just see the dejection all over them. Virginia Tech went back to Hamsher on the right-side slide to put them on the cusp of set point at 23-19. Hopper powered through the block on the left side to side the Wolfpack out, and got them a point closer still on the next rally. Gosling got the sideout to bring the Hokies to set point. It looked at a glance like the Wolfpack had staved it off, but what I thought at first were hands touching the hit was actually the antenna. Point Hokies, second set final of 25-21 (just like the first).
Set three began with sideout after sideout. The Wolfpack scored on serve first, to go up 4-2, with a right-side kill for Rachel Buckley. But some more unforced errors from the Wolfpack got the Hokies back level. Virginia Tech had a chance to take the lead at 5-4, but the Wolfpack got a couple of big ups from their back row and eventually won the point on a joust. Merriwether and Nikki Glass followed that with a couple of nice blocks, together, and the Wolfpack again led again by three on 7-4. The roll ended ignominiously, as another double hit by Aljoe sided the Hokies out. The teams then began trading points again. Caine's long hit extended the Wolfpack to a four-point lead for the first time, on 12-8. A miscommunication on the Hokie side, at the end of a long rally, then led to an easy block for Hopper, and the Wolfpack rose up by five. Virginia Tech called time there
Virginia Tech took the first two coming back from the timeout, only one of which was actually shown by the webcast. The Wolfpack then sided out for 14-10, and Merriwether came up with a big solo block up the middle against the back row attack to keep them ahead four at 15-11. An unforced error on the Hokie side this time made it 16-11, and Riley inserted hotshot freshman recruit Lindsey Owens as a sub. She provided something of a spark, getting Wolfpack blockers to change their assignments enough to disrupt the defence. The Hokies took four straight, the last a soft little touch for Hamsher off an overpass, to close within 16-15. Bunn and NC State called time there.
Just like the Hokies earlier in the set, the Wolfpack gained two straight coming out of the timeout, but unlike earlier, the Hokies got those two right back immediately. Then when Glass hit long from the left side, the set was tied at 18-all. A double called on Aljoe made it 19-18 Hokies, and Bunn called his second timeout not long after the first. The Wolfpack again got two straight after calling time, but the Hokies brought the match even again on 20-all. Glass' hit on that rally landed just inches in bounds, and the Wolfpack inched toward set three. A dump from the Virginia Tech setter Fish made it 21-all, and a wide hit from the Wolfpack middle put the Hokies back on top again. Caine then found the floor to make it 23-21. The next rally appeared to make it match point Hokies, as Glass' hit landed well wide, but the Hokies were whistled for a net fault. Caine's kill off the right-side slide got the point back, and it was match point anyway on 24-22.
The Wolfpack staved off the first match point, on their reception, as Owens hit long. But Caine made sure the match would last no longer, getting the final kill of the match from the right side.
Virginia Tech d. North Carolina State (25-21, 25-21, 25-23)
You'd probably have to class this as a minor upset. Certainly in that it was a sweep. The set scores were reasonably close, but the Wolfpack never really looked like they were going in the right direction. In truth, the Hokies never really did either, but someone had to win. Maybe that's too harsh. Maybe it was more terrific defence than poor offence (both sides hit under .150 for the night). The Hokies had 44 digs for the night, and the Wolfpack 42. Those are good totals for 3 sets.
Each side had one player in double-digits in kills, Richardson for NC State and Hamsher for Virginia Tech. Of the seven players tonight to take at least 20 swings, Hamsher was the only one to hit even .300. Usually there's someone who hits .400, and that's not even a remarkable night (not like if someone hits .600 or .700).
Looking at the stat sheet, it's not immediately clear why Virginia Tech won. They were out-killed and out-blocked, and only very marginally out-dug and out-served the Wolfpack. Having watched the match, though, the answer is unforced errors on the NC State side. Doubles, lifts, net touches. They added up for the Wolfpack, and added up to a three-set loss.
Virginia Tech turn right around and face North Carolina tomorrow, in a match that will also be webcast. (But as of now, I'm not planning on writing it up) NC State also have a quick turnaround, facing Virginia tomorrow night.
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