University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
17-8, 14-2ACC
Virginia Tech
15-13, 6-10ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | 18 | 25 | 20 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
Tar Heels Sweep Hokies For Ninth Straight On Senior Night
November 15, 2015 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – Carolina volleyball kept up its winning ways on Saturday night, capturing its ninth-straight victory with a 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-20) sweep of Virginia Tech. The win lifts UNC to 17-8 (14-2 ACC), while VT falls to 15-13 (6-10 ACC).
“This is a time of year where we take every match very seriously and it's really hard to win,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Sometimes if you win a bunch and take it lightly, it's hard to win. Winning back to back is even harder, and this is the first time we've had a Friday-Saturday, so I'm really proud that we were able to turn around and do that. It was less emotional than last night, but we found a way to win it. I'm just proud of the team for where we are.”
Seniors Paige Neuenfeldt, Victoria McPherson, Heather Gearhart, Leigh Andrew, Jordyn Schnabl, and Kody Michal were honored before the match in the annual Senior Night ceremony, recognizing the stellar senior class.
“It's always a really rewarding thing to win on Senior Night for the seniors, and to have them all play well,” Sagula continued. “I thought that Vic and Paige did great offensively. Taylor Treacy was good. Leigh really held us together, not on the offensive end, but on passing and serving. And that's what we needed – a great team effort. Leigh carried us last night, and today I thought her defense, just her overall presence, was important for us.”
McPherson dazzled on her Senior Night, finishing the weekend without an attack error by hitting .611 with 11 kills and five blocks against Virginia Tech.
“The word I've been using all week is surreal,” said McPherson following her Senior Night. “It's just kind of weird for it to be Senior Night and for us to all be reflecting on what we've done since we've been here. It hasn't set in yet but maybe it will on Wednesday when it's actually our last home game. The amount of support we have here is awesome.”
Taylor Treacy also slammed 11 kills in the match, hitting .455 with five blocks, while Taylor Leath tallied 10 kills.
Paige Neuenfeldt led the match with six blocks on the night, breaking the all-time career record for block assists during the second set. The senior surpassed Tori Seibert (1996-99)'s mark of 464, finishing the night with 467 to her name.
“The thing about block assists is that they're not solos,” said Neuenfeldt. “I'm a good part of a lot of them, but with great teammates doing their job, I don't even touch the ball half the time. I think the term block assist speaks to the team, and I would be nowhere without any of them. It's very cool to leave a legacy in the Carolina books though. All the credit goes to my awesome teammates who have helped me achieve this.”
Sheila Doyle manned a strong back line, posting 26 digs to mark the most digs by a Tar Heel in a three-set match since 2007, adding seven assists and a service ace. Abigail Curry had a double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs and matched the career highs she set on Friday night with four kills and three blocks.
The Tar Heels opened the match with a 4-1 lead and never allowed the Hokies to get any closer, using six blocks to take the opening stanza, 25-18. Neuenfeldt, McPherson, Curry and Treacy had three block assists each, as Neuenfeldt tied the all-time career record on a team-up with Treacy for the set-winner.
Carolina controlled the second set early, racing out to an 8-3 lead on a kill by Taylor Fricano. However, the Hokies battled back to within two, 15-13, then three straight Hokie kills tied the score at 21, and a block by Lindsey Owens and Cara Cunningham gave Virginia Tech its first lead of the night, 22-21. UNC forced right back in front, 24-22, but VT erased two straight set points to knot the score at 24. Owens snubbed UNC's next attempt at set point, but Leath finished off a rally with a kill to close the second set, 27-25, and give Carolina a 2-0 lead at the break.
The third set was close early, but after an ace by Amanda McKinzie gave Tech an 8-7 lead, back-to-back kills by Leath helped reinvigorate the Carolina offense, and UNC soon ran ahead 17-11. A huge slam by Treacy set up Carolina match point, and McPherson closed out her Senior Night with her 11th kill of the match to win the third, 25-20, and complete the sweep.
“This is a tough group to replace,” said Sagula of the senior class. “Most of them have played four straight years. The one who my heart goes out to couldn't play tonight, JoJo Schnabl. She would give anything to be on that court right now, so I want us to be good for her. This class has brought this program to a national relevance. They came in here with a vision to be successful and set a standard of excellence and competitiveness that they came in here with.
“People are going to remember the quick kills of Victoria McPherson and the energy and kills of Paige, the steady performance of Leigh Andrew, the defense of Heather and JoJo, and the leadership and savvy they've brought to this program. They just mean so much to us. They're going to be very hard to replace.”
“It's just been an amazing four years,” Neuenfeldt finished. “It's really hard to put into words how great the coaches, teachers and trainers I have been blessed with are; it's just a family. It's a great group of girls to go out with. We're really close and we'll be known for turning this season around, so it's been a blessing. We have the best teammates by our side and it seems like something's ending, but we're not even close to being done yet. We have a lot of volleyball left to play, and we're going to play with a lot of grit and determination the last few games.”
The Tar Heels return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the final match at Carmichael Arena of the 2015 regular season. First serve against cross-town rival NC State is set for 6 p.m.
