North Carolina
3-6
Michigan
10-1
Tar Heels Hand No. 20 Michigan First Loss of 2015
September 20, 2015 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina Tar Heels found their rhythm on Saturday night, cruising to a three-set (25-18, 25-7, 25-19) victory over No. 20 Michigan to finish nonconference play on a high note. The win was the second for the Tar Heels (3-6) over a ranked opponent this season and ended Michigan's (10-1) program best season-opening winning streak at 10.
“What a difference a day makes,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Good thing that one day ends and another day starts. And we were really just fortunate to come out and play so well tonight. We hit on all cylinders, and our serving took Michigan out of their game a little bit, quite a bit I thought, because they're a good ball-handling team, and I was really surprised. They didn't have a good first swing at balls after a while and had to be conservative and that helped us a lot. I'm just really proud of our team being able to turn around in that short amount of time.”
Carolina found success in aggressive serving, including a season-high eight aces, then put up a wall at the net with 13 blocks, helping the Tar Heels to outhit the Wolverines .393 to .071.
Middle hitters Paige Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson led the match with 10 kills apiece and were in on 11 of the team's 13 blocks. Neuenfeldt hit .769, going 10-for-13, while McPherson was a perfect 8-for-8 over the final two sets, hitting .643 overall on the night.
Leigh Andrew paced the Tar Heel back row with 12 digs, while Sheila Doyle put up a personal-best nine digs in her first career match at libero.
“Shelia did a great job for us,” said Sagula. “I think she passed better than we thought in the beginning. Her game is defense and serving, and she did a great job in both of those. She made some great plays, one-handed plays and lots of good-effort plays tonight that just helped keep us in rallies, and I thought that was important. And she was very stable with passing.
“But I think Sheila's passing game was reflected of how well Leigh and Tatiana balance the court for us. When those two are playing their games, it helps Sheila's confidence and presence, and Sheila was able to play her game. That's why it's a team sport. If you play well, you are able to help the people around you. “
“Everyone really brought up the morale for everyone else,” said sophomore Taylor Fricano, who had six kills on the night. “Everyone was playing for each other. That's why it looked so easy; because everyone was doing their jobs.”
Back-to-back kills by McPherson to open the match set the tone for set one, as the Tar Heels raced out to a 5-1 lead then continued cruise for a 25-18 victory. Neuenfeldt and Taylor Leath combined to go 9-for-11 without an error, and the Tar Heels put up five big blocks to help capture the opening frame.
Carolina lit a fire in the second set, winning the frame by their largest margin of the season with a 25-7 slant. The Tar Heels used five blocks, five service aces and no attack errors to run past the Wolverines, out-hitting U-M .412 to -.125 in the second stanza.
A service ace just snuck over the net early in set three to give Michigan its first lead of the night, 6-5, but UNC soon pushed back in front, 8-7, with the help of a Neuenfeldt ace. The score remained tight, but it was the Tar Heels who would distance themselves as the set neared a close, as North Carolina completed the sweep with a 25-19 decision in the third.
Saturday's match was Alumni Night, which drew a record turnout of nearly 50 former UNC volleyball players in attendance.
“It felt great,” said Neuenfeldt. “With it being alumni weekend and having all these returning players here, it was awesome to get to put on a show for them and just show them how good we can be. I think we've come to a turning point in our season when now we're learning from this, and we're going to bring that same game where everyone plays great together for the rest of the season. And so, I think this is going to be a good turning point for us now.”
The Tar Heels hit the road next weekend for the beginning of conference play, taking on Virginia Tech in the first ACC match of the season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25.
