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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
21-10, 17-3ACC
#16-Seed Creighton
27-8, 17-1BIG EAST
Tar Heels' Season Ends In NCAA Second Round
December 6, 2015 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – No. 23 North Carolina volleyball saw its season come to a close on Saturday evening, falling in four sets to #16-seed Creighton in the Second Round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays punched their ticket to San Diego to participate in the program's first-ever NCAA Regional, improving to 27-8 on the year, while Carolina finishes the season at 21-10.
“First of all, congratulations to Creighton,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “They played a great match. They were tenacious, they did some really good thing that got us out of our game. We knew it was going to be close. We unfortunately got a little out of rhythm, out of sync, in the third and the fourth sets, kind of uncharacteristic for us. They were able to be a little more efficient offensively. They served tough. They did a really good job putting pressure on us and took us a little out of our flow.”
After winning the first set in a down-to-the-wire, 32-30, decision, Carolina lost its footing and dropped the next three sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14. Saturday's contest was the 10th Second Round match in Carolina program history, and a win would have meant the Tar Heels' third trip to NCAA Regionals and second straight.
“This hurts, to lose a match,” said Sagula. “But only one team is going to finish the season with a victory at this point, and we're proud of what they've done. And especially where the season started, where we've come from and how we've grown.”
Carolina controlled the pace of the first set, running out to a 16-11 lead, but Creighton erased a 22-18 deficit to knot the score at 22. A kill by Leigh Andrew kept UNC on top, but a pair of Bluejay kills allowed Creighton to get to set point first, 24-23. The set was far from over, as Creighton and Carolina both reached set point four times, but a huge solo block by Taylor Leath finally ended the first set in favor of the Tar Heels, 32-30.
The Tar Heels opened the second set ahead, 4-2, but Creighton surged ahead, 9-4, with a seven-point run served out by Maggie Baumert, and the Tar Heels never recovered. A service ace by Baumert put the set nearly out of reach, 20-11, but the Tar Heels rebounded to cut the deficit in half, 21-15. However, UNC was unable to get any closer, and Baumert finished it off with a kill, to even the match at one set apiece with a 25-18 decision in the second.
Creighton used a four-point run midway through the third to take a 15-8 lead. The Tar Heels battled back to within three, 18-15, off a kill by Abigail Curry, but the Bluejays replied to win the next five straight to make it 23-15, and a kill by Jaali Winters gave Creighton the match lead with a 25-18 win in the third.
The Bluejays kept up their momentum to begin the fourth set, winning the first three points including an ace by Ashley Jansen, and soon pulled ahead, 8-2. Carolina cut the lead to 15-10, but a kill by Winters began a six-point run for the Bluejays which solidified the match with an insurmountable, 21-10, lead, as Creighton earned its first trip to NCAA Regionals in school history with a 25-14 victory in the fourth set.
“They won the serve and pass game today,” said senior Paige Neuenfeldt. “They were really in system and they had an efficient offense – our block couldn't really touch a lot until the end of the game when I thought we started to get more touches. They were just really efficient”
Senior Leigh Andrew led the Tar Heels by posting her 19th career double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs in her final match donning Carolina Blue. The defensive outside hitter graduates with a total of 746 kills, 957 digs, 165 blocks and 80 service aces.
Redshirt freshman Taylor Leath followed Andrew with 11 kills and neared a personal best with eight digs, while Taylor Treacy and Paige Neuenfeldt each struck nine kills in the match.
With Neuenfeldt's second-to-last kill of the night, Carolina's all-time blocking leader joined the 1,000-kill club, becoming the first Tar Heel to reach that milestone since Emily McGee in 2012. The senior middle finishes her career with the most career block assists (490), total blocks (568) and blocks per set (1.29) in program history, while securing the second-best hitting percentage (.342). Additionally, her 140 block assists this season rank second all time and her 1.47 per set ties for third.
Senior Victoria McPherson was in on four of the team's five blocks in the match, adding six kills, as she finishes her illustrious career ranked third in blocks per set (1.23), fourth in block assists (383) and sixth in hitting percentage (.304) at Carolina. Having set the single-season record for blocks per set at 1.48 last year, her .360 clip in her senior season is good for third-best all time.
“I just want to be able to pass down to the other girls a work ethic that only you can have inside of you,” said McPherson after her final match for Carolina, “that no matter how bad your day is going, no matter how bad your body feels, you still want to be on the court. A fighting spirit, a fighting legacy.”
Libero Sheila Doyle registered her 10th 20-dig performance of the year with a match-leading 25 for the Tar Heel defense. Influential in the Tar Heels' early season turnaround, the junior finished the season with a total of 411 digs, averaging 4.90 per set during the 23 matches that she appeared at libero.
“I thought Sheila Doyle did a great job, she really was after it,” said Neuenfeldt. “But it wasn't enough to be able to really slow them down and get any momentum on our side. I think we needed to step up a little bit more with our block.”
Senior Heather Gearhart tallied seven digs in the match, totaling 147 in her four years at UNC. Junior Abigail Curry directed the Tar Heel offense, posting 40 assists to go with six digs and three kills. She finishes the season with 795 assists, including averaging 10.68 per set over the 13 matches in which she played all six rotations as the Tar Heels' lone setter after the loss of senior Jordyn Schnabl to a concussion. Despite missing the six weeks of the year, Schnabl graduates with a total of 2,277 assists and 92 service aces.
The 2015 season saw plenty of ups and downs, as Carolina took on one of the nation's most-difficult nonconference schedules. The Tar Heels opened the year with a 1-5 record before taking down then-No. 3 Stanford in straight sets in UNC's home opener. Carolina went on to clinch its sixth consecutive 20-win season with a 3-0 victory at Wake Forest the night before Thanksgiving.
Under the leadership of the 2015 senior class, Carolina advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight year and earned the chance to host the NCAA Tournament for just the fifth time in school history and second in a row.
“What they did is have a vision to say, 'We want more,'” said Sagula as he reflected on the talented senior class. “This team has set a standard. What have they done? They've been our highest-ranked program ever. These players have been starters for four years, they've been on the court for four years. We've played the best teams in the country, we haven't shied away from anyone. When people talk about top programs in the country, academically, athletically, when you're talking volleyball, we are a choice for people. They've helped make that happen. Academically, in the community, they just represent us at a high level.
“In four years they've learned and grown both as young women and as athletes, on and off the court. I'm proud of who they are as young adults. Now they'll go out and represent North Carolina as graduates of this University. I don't know if you could ask for any finer representatives.”
