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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
4-6, 1-0ACC
Virginia Tech
9-4, 0-1ACC
Tar Heels Open ACC Play with Victory in Blacksburg
September 26, 2015 | Volleyball
Blacksburg, Va. – The North Carolina volleyball team captured its 18th straight ACC victory on Friday night, taking down Virginia Tech, 3-1 (25-15, 26-28, 25-15, 25-7) in the 2015 conference opener. The win lifts UNC to 4-6 (1-0 ACC), while VT drops to 10-4 (0-1 ACC).
“Without question, this is a great start to the ACC season,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “We knew coming into Blacksburg that Virginia Tech would be a tough team. They're always tough on their court, and the fact that we came out very inspired with a great attitude to compete early in the match, I think that set the tone and built the confidence for us.”
Victoria McPherson paced the Tar Heel offense with a career-high 16 kills, hitting .517 and matching her season best with seven blocks. Paige Neuenfeldt followed with 12 kills (.385), while Taylor Fricano and Leigh Andrew had nine and eight, respectively, and Andrew added three service aces.
“Paige and Victoria kept battling and found different ways to score for us,” said Sagula.”Combined they had 28 kills, which is amazing for us.”
Both Carolina setters had double-doubles on the night, as Jordyn Schnabl, who served out a 10-0 run to set up the fourth-set victory, posted 26 assists, 11 digs and an ace, while Abigail Curry registered 15 assists and a career-high 13 digs. Sheila Doyle narrowly missed a double-double of her own, leading the match with 14 digs and tallying nine assists, both career highs.
“Libero play was very solid for us all night, and I thought the setters got better,” Sagula continued. “By the third and fourth set, they began to put our hitters in a better rhythm and found ways for Victoria and for Paige to really be effective.”
The Tar Heel front row defense came alive in the fourth set, totaling 12 blocks on the night including 6.5 in the final frame. McPherson led with seven, while Fricano stuffed five blocks, Taylor Treacy had four and Tatiana Durr posted three.
Strong serving and solid defense helped Carolina outhit the Hokies .313 to .087 on the night, including -.333 in the final set.
“At the end of the night, really what it came down to was serving and passing,” Sagula summarize. “We out-served them and we passed great, and I thought the way we were able to serve really dictated for us the tempo of the game and created some problems for Virginia Tech. They're a good team, they've had a lot of success this year, so this is a really great start for us.”
McPherson set the tone early, slamming a pair of kills to open the match as the Tar Heels began the night with a 3-0 lead. Kills by Neuenfedlt and Taylor Leath stretched the lead to 10-5. The Hokies battled back to within two, 10-8, but Schnabl ran the Tar Heels on a 6-0 drive from behind the service line to double VT, 16-8, and a kill by Durr finished out the set in favor of Carolina, 25-16. McPherson was the driving force of the set, hitting .667 with six kills and a pair of blocks in the opening frame.
Virginia Tech won the first point of the second set, but two McPherson kills helped UNC go ahead 3-1, and the Tar Heels would maintain the advantage until a kill by Kennedy Bryan tied the score at 14. Amanda McKinzie put VT in front, 15-14, then back-to-back aces by Lindsey Owens gave Tech its first multi-point lead of the night, 18-15. A UNC timeout brought the focus back, as a big rip from Andrew helped the Tar Heels re-tie the score at 19, and a Carolina kill and a block made it 21-19. Two straight Hokie points after a timeout knotted the score at 21, then neither team could string together two in a row, forcing the set into extras. Carolina reached set point, 26-25, on a Hokie error, but it was Virginia Tech that would find the floor last, winning the final three points of the set to tie the match with at 28-26 decision in the second.
“I thought it was a great team effort, because of how we started so strong” said Sagula. “The second set was a tight one, and I really like the way we battled to come back after we were down, 19-15. We came back at the end, we missed some chances, but the fact that we came back with the right attitude in the third set was even more significant.”
The Tar Heels raced out to a 6-1 lead after the break, forcing an early Virginia Tech timeout. The Hokies battled back to within one, 7-6, but Andrew led Carolina on a 6-0 run to push ahead 13-6, and a kill by Fricano extended the lead to 20-12. As the rotation came back around to Andrew, she served out the set, closing the frame with an ace for a 25-15 victory in the third.
The fire remained lit for the fourth set, as the Tar Heels cruised to a 12-3 lead, then Schnabl served up a 10-0 run to reach match point, 24-6, and Fricano slammed the final ball of the night to seal up the Tar Heel victory, 25-7.
Carolina heads to Pittsburgh on Sunday, Sept. 27, to take on the Panthers in ACC play. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
