University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Tar Heels Sweep Virginia After Close First Set
October 11, 2014 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Tar Heels battled through a tough first set before sweeping Virginia 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-16) Friday night in Carmichael Arena.
North Carolina (13-2, 4-1 ACC) earned their 10th sweep in the 2014 season. Through fifteen matches the Tar Heels have only dropped eleven sets, with eight of those lost sets coming to ranked opponents.
Leigh Andrew led all UNC attackers with 11 kills and nine digs. Chaniel Nelson added nine kills, while Victoria McPherson added eight kills and two blocks.
Senior libero Ece Taner finished with 15 digs, three assists and one ace to lead the North Carolina defense that held Virginia to .198 hitting percentage.
“Virginia played very smart volleyball in the first set,” said Head Coach Joe Sagula. “We made adjustments late in the set to serve tougher and really dial in on the block to stop their offense.”
“Our block numbers were not extraordinarily high but they did a good job of getting touches and forcing balls to our defense. Leigh, Ece, and Tatiana did a great job of getting in good position and controlling the ball on our side to give our offense opportunities.”
North Carolina and UVa battled in the first set as the two teams traded leads throughout the game. UNC grabbed an early 4-2 advantage behind a kill from Nelson, but Virginia responded to go up 10-8 in the frame.
The Tar Heels earned the largest lead of the game at 24-21 after UNC forced two UVa hitting errors. The Cavaliers responded with two kills from Haley Kole to cut the lead to 24-23 before a hitting error gave Carolina the set one victory.
After a close set one North Carolina broke open set two by jumping to a quick 5-0 lead. An ace from Tatiana Durr extended the lead to 14-6 before the Tar Heels earned their largest lead at 18-8 after a kill by McPherson.
Carolina would finish the frame with a kill from Durr and take the 25-14 victory in set two.
The Cavaliers kept set three close after they evened the frame at 5-5 early. However the Tar Heels mounted an eight-point run that pushed the lead to 13-6. Another Durr ace gave UNC a 19-12 lead that they would not surrender on the way to a 25-16 set three victory.
Taylor Treacy and Hayley McCorkle split time in the second opposite position and were unstoppable attacking. Treacy had five kills on only seven swings for a .714 hitting percentage. McCorkle had four kills, one block and one dig through two sets of play.
Durr finished the match with four kills, eight digs and two aces. Setters Jordyn Schnabl and Abigail Curry combined for 41 assists and led UNC to a .375 hitting percentage in the match, with only nine attacking errors.
North Carolina (13-2, 4-1 ACC) will wait until next weekend to take the court again as they will travel to N.C. State for a match against the Wolfpack on Friday, Oct. 17. The Tar Heels will then stay in the Triangle and face off on Sunday, Oct. 19 against No. 22 Duke.
