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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
17-2, 9-0ACC
Boston College
5-14, 0-9ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | 19 | 10 | 14 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
No. 8 Tar Heels Clip Eagles, 3-0
October 22, 2016 | Volleyball
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| Postgame Infographic |
CHAPEL HILL – Eighth-ranked North Carolina captured its ninth-straight victory on Friday night, soaring past Boston College in straight sets (25-19, 25-10, 25-14). The Tar Heels out-hit the Eagles .323 to -.010 in the match, led by a stellar offensive performance by opposite hitter Taylor Treacy. With the win, Carolina improves to 17-2 on the season and matches its best start to ACC play in school history at a flawless 9-0. With the loss, BC sinks to 5-14 (0-9 ACC).
“I think it was important for our team to play really strong and play with fewer errors,” said head coach Joe Sagula, “and I think we did that in the second and third set. If we're going to go far this year, we have to learn how to finish teams quickly, and I thought we did that tonight.
“We have the physical talent to dominate teams but at times have made unforced errors, and I think tonight we showed what we're capable of doing.”
Fifth-year senior Taylor Treacy dominated the match, more than doubling the next attacker with a season-best 15 kills on 23 errorless swings for a career-high .652 hitting percentage. Taylor Borup was next on the Heels with six kills, and Taylor Leath followed with five.
“Taylor Treacy was awesome,” said Sagula. “I thought her overall play was really good. We were laughing about her needing to improve her hitting percentage, and she certainly did that tonight. No errors! I'm excited, because she really worked and wanted to do something like that. She completely dominated tonight.”
“This week, I stayed after practice and came in early getting reps,” said Treacy. “It was a huge part of my focus to have more clean contact on the ball, so I'm pretty content with how I performed.”
“She crushed it today!” Taylor Fricano interjected, who tied her career high with a match-leading seven of Carolina's 11.5 blocks. Leath stuffed a total of five blocks, one solo, and Treacy added three stuffs.
“Fricano did a great job closing blocks,” said Sagula. “She worked really hard, so I'm excited to see those kinds of numbers. I'll take that (stat line) any time.”
Leath contributed in all facets of the game, adding a career-high three service aces and a match-best 12 digs to her five blocks and five kills. Abigail Curry and Sheila Doyle added nine digs apiece, while Curry dished out 22 assists and a service ace.
The Tar Heels opened the match with back-to-back blocks and quickly raced out to an 8-0 lead on a fantastic service run by Curry. Carolina extended the lead to 12-2 with the help of back-to-back aces by Leath, but BC's first kill of the night (by Anna Skold) helped with a four-point Eagle run to cut the deficit to 12-6. The Eagles took advantage of a slew of Carolina errors midway through the set to battle all the way back and take a 19-18 lead on a kill by Sol Calvete. Hayley McCorkle slammed one to retie the score, kicking off a seven-point swing as UNC closed out the set with a 25-19 opening victory.
An early run served out by Fricano, including three kills by Sydnye Fields, spotted UNC a 9-2 lead to begin the second set, and this time Carolina kept the pressure on, capturing the frame, 25-10. Carolina hit an impeccable .607 in the frame, led by Treacy who had seven kills on nine swings.
Carolina steadily drew a larger and larger lead throughout the course of the third set, expanding an early 8-4 advantage after a block and a kill by Borup to a daunting 17-7 lead after a kill by Treacy. Fields set up match point with a solo block, and a setting error ended the night as UNC won the third set, 25-14, and completed its fifth sweep in the first nine ACC matches.
“I was happy that we started really well,” said Sagula. “We learned from the first set how to be better, and I'm just glad that we were able to dominate.”
The Tar Heels are back at Carmichael on Sunday, Oct. 23, for a visit from the Syracuse Orange (5-14, 4-5 ACC). The match will be televised live on ESPNU at 1 p.m. with Sam Gore and Laura Bush on the call.
