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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
21-9, 17-3ACC
UNCW
24-8, 12-4CAA
Tar Heels Sweep UNCW To Advance To NCAA Second Round
December 5, 2015 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – No. 23 North Carolina opened play at the 2015 NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Friday with a decisive victory over UNCW, defeating the nearby Seahawks, 25-18, 25-21, 25-21, to advance to Second Round. UNC improves to 21-9 on the year, while UNCW was bounced from its first-ever NCAA Tournament in the first round, closing its historic season at 24-8.
“We're delighted to get through this first round against a really good UNC Wilmington team,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Congratulations to them on a great year. They never stopped fighting; I applaud UNC Wilmington for their fight, for what their coaches do; they never go away.
“We knew it was going to be a really tough match coming in. It wasn't going to be pretty. It wasn't going to be a high-percentage hitting match because they're feisty. They keep the game going, they scrap, and they throw the ball around. We had to be ready for that, and that's what we prepared for all week. We had a plan, and I thought we stuck to our plan really well early in the match. We got away from it in the third set, but we got back to it.”
A driving force for the Tar Heels' win was All-ACC senior Paige Neuenfeldt, who became Carolina's all-time career blocking leader in the third set, breaking a 16-year old record with her 567th stuff. The senior middle, who is now also just two block assists away from tying the single-season record, led the Tar Heels with 10 kills and seven of the team's 14 stuffs in the match.
“It's crazy to hear,” said Neuenfeldt upon learning she had broken the record. “I think blocking for me has been something I've been working on. I came into Carolina as more of an offensive middle than a blocking middle, so if you had told me that four years later I would be the leading blocker at Carolina, I would have laughed. So it's just kind of cool to see how the game has evolved for me over the four years.
“But it also goes to show what amazing teammates I've been playing with. I've had Chaniel Nelson, Emily McGee, Taylor Treacy—all these huge blockers who have always been there to get block assists with me, which count toward my total blocks. Half the time on those block assists, I don't touch the ball, I'm just in the air taking up court. So it's a huge team shout-out right there for me. I just want to give a lot of credit to the amazing blockers that I've had the privilege to get to block with over the past four years and our amazing servers who also set that up. If we get tough serves, I know exactly where the ball is going and I can set up an easy block, so it just goes to show what our team's been doing over the past four years. It's an honor.”
Fellow middle Victoria McPherson was the most efficient attacker of the night, slamming nine kills without an error to hit .500 against the talented Wilmington defenders who rank 10th in the nation in blocks. Senior Leigh Andrew followed with eight kills to go with 13 digs, and Taylor Treacy added an additional seven slams.
Abigail Curry ran the Tar Heels' dominant offense, registering a double-double with 29 assists and 13 digs, adding three kills and two blocks.
“Abbey did a great job playing front row tonight for us, blocking and attacking the ball,” said Sagula. “This was one of her best matches, I think, which is the reason why we're here today with a 3-0 win.”
Carolina hit just .200 in the match, but limited the Seahawks to a measly .094 clip due to strong defense at the net and in the back row. Libero Sheila Doyle controlled a strong back line with her ninth 20-dig performance of the season, posting 22 in the short, three-set bout, while the Tar Heel blocking unit out-stuffed the Seahawks, 14-7.
“We are one of the top blocking teams and they're a top blocking team,” said Sagula. “We were able to double their blocks tonight; I thought that was the difference. I can't thank enough the leadership of our seniors and Paige and Abbey in leading the offense tonight.”
Carolina had extra motivation in Friday's opening-round match, as UNCW handed the Tar Heels their first loss in Carmichael Arena in two seasons back in September.
“I think we were very well prepared for this match,” said Curry. “We definitely play well in revenge matches, so we had that chip on our shoulder. We had a different attitude coming into this game; we were not about to lose on our home court again.”
UNCW opened the night up 4-1 off a solo block by Meredith Peacock, but the Tar Heels fought back to tie the score at five. An ace by Andrew gave Carolina its first lead at 7-6, an advantage it would not again surrender, as UNC soon ran ahead, 17-10, and claimed the first set, 25-18.
The Tar Heels won the first three points of the second set, then pulled out to a 13-7 lead on back-to-back ball-handling errors by Wilmington setter Alyssa Desjardins. Three straight Carolina errors allowed the Seahawks back within two, 13-11, but a pair of kills by Andrew pushed the Tar Heels back in front, 15-11. A kill from Taylor Leath got UNC to 20, up 20-14, but the Seahawks battled back to cut the deficit to one, 21-20, on a strong service run by Kristen Powell. Another kill from Leath averted the tie, and three kills by Neuenfeldt secured the win for the Tar Heels, as Carolina took the second set, 25-21.
UNCW had the upper hand in the third set, racing out to a 16-8 lead midway through the frame. However, the Tar Heels never backed down, as three kills by McPherson and Treacy cut the deficit down to two, 17-15. McPherson then continued to power the comeback, stuffing back-to-back blocks to give Carolina the lead, 20-19. Kills by Leath and Neuenfeldt set up Tar Heel match point, and a UNCW error closed out the night as UNC pulled off the unlikely comeback to finish the match in three sets.
“To come back against a feisty team like that, I was delighted to see what this team could do,” said Sagula.
Carolina has less than 24 hours to prepare for its next challenge, hosting #16-seed Creighton in Second Round action at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. The Bluejays knocked off Big South Champion Coastal Carolina in the first match of the day to advance to Saturday's contest. The winner of the Second Round match will punch its ticket to San Diego for next weekend's NCAA Regional.
“We're looking forward to tomorrow night,” said Sagula. “Another match and another opportunity to keep playing.”
