University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Florida State
Tar Heels Fall on the Road to No. 6 Florida State
September 27, 2014 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina fell 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 32-30) to No. 6 Florida State on the road Friday night in the Tar Heels' ACC opener.
No. 12 UNC fell to 9-2 and 0-1 in the ACC on the season after losing to the Seminoles. FSU outhit Carolina .218 to .129 for the match.
Lauren McAdoo led the Tar Heels with eight kills, and Chaniel Nelson added seven kills and four blocks. Ece Taner had 10 digs to lead the defense, while setter Jordyn Schnabl had 18 assists and six digs.
“Losing is always pretty disappointing, but I think the team can learn from this and improve for future matches,” said Head Coach Joe Sagula.
“Florida State is a good team that plays aggressively on each point. They capitalize on opportunities, and we were unable to overcome the 27 attacking errors we committed in the match.”
In set one, North Carolina and Florida State battled early, trading points thanks to strong net play from both teams. The Seminoles found late breathing room thanks to a run on Nicole Walch's serve that pushed the FSU lead to 21-15. A kill by Sarah Burrington finished the set at 25-22 in favor of FSU.
Nelson led UNC with four kills and no errors in set one. Paige Neuenfeldt added two kills and three blocks in the first frame.
In set two, UNC started set much more confidently and put the Seminoles on their heels. Schnabl dropped in an ace for the first point of the set en route to Carolina gaining a quick 4-2 lead. After the teams traded points kill for kill, Victoria McPherson knocked down her third kill of set two to give UNC an 18-14 lead.
The Seminoles responded by thanks to an improved offensive performance by Nicole Walch in the frame, who mustered five kills on only one error in set two. The Tar Heels also had 11 attacking errors in the set, many of them late in the game as Florida State made a run.
After the Seminoles tied the score at 18, the two teams battled to several more points. Florida State pulled away at 21-21 by scoring two straight points from UNC errors. The Tar Heels earned a kill from Leigh Andrew to stop the spurt, but an attacking error would hand set two to the Seminoles, 25-22, and give them a 2-0 lead in the match.
From there, the Tar Heels faced a gut-check moment in a tough environment on the road and they responded with a tremendous effort in the third set.
Carolina opened set three with a kill from Nelson, but Florida State gained an early lead at 9-5. The Tar Heels made a quick run to cut the lead to 10-9, but FSU bolted back to a three-point lead they would maintain.
North Carolina found themselves down 24-21 late in set three, facing set and match points. A kill from Tatiana Durr staved off the first match point, bringing it to 24-22.
Nelson followed the error with a kill that barely crossed between the block and the antenna, dropping to the floor for the UNC point. Taner then sealed the comeback with an ace, tying set three at 24-24.
The Tar Heels and Seminoles then traded points back and forth, with each team saving multiple set points.
Andrew contributed several kills to save match points for North Carolina before the teams tied at 30-30. From there, a service error from UNC gave FSU one more match point at 31-30.
North Carolina got a strong swing from Durr, which looked to almost fall to the ground. But FSU setter Sarah Wickstrom saved the ball with one arm, and then Walch tapped the ball to the tape, and it rolled and fell over on the UNC side.
The crazy final point capped a tremendous final set, 32-30, and gave the match to Florida State 3-0.
“Moving forward from here, we as a team will need to learn how to continue to be aggressive throughout a match,” said Sagula. “We need to take advantage of the opportunities we get each point and not let chances slip away.”
Carolina will return to Chapel Hill for a match against Syracuse this Sunday at 2 p.m. in Carmichael Arena. Admission is free and the match is the first of three Team Days hosted by Carolina volleyball, where players of all levels are invited to bring their teams out and cheer for the Tar Heels.
