University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
18-2, 10-0ACC
Syracuse
5-15, 4-6ACC
Carolina Secures 10th Straight Win With Sweep Of Syracuse
October 23, 2016 | Volleyball
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| Postgame Infographic |
CHAPEL HILL – No. 8 North Carolina captured its 10th straight victory on Sunday afternoon, rolling to a sweep of Syracuse on national television to open ACC play a perfect 10-0 for the first time in program history. The first-place Tar Heels took down the Orange, 25-21, 25-12, 25-21, to claim their third consecutive sweep and sixth in ACC play. The win lifts UNC to 18-2 (10-0 ACC), while Syracuse takes its first winless weekend of the conference slate, falling to 5-15 (4-6 ACC).
“I am happy to come out with another 3-0 win, most importantly,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Syracuse presented very unique challenges. They are physical on the net. They throw the ball around really well. They caught us off guard and we have to learn how to be more disciplined. I thought the second set went great, how we put pressure on them. The first set was back and forth and they made it more competitive in the third set.”
Carolina led a balanced attack against the Orange, with five hitters totaling between six and 11 kills. Taylor Treacy and Taylor Leath led the match with 11 kills apiece, while Hayley McCorkle tallied eight, Taylor Borup struck seven and Taylor Fricano slammed six.
“I am happy with how Taylor Borup is progressing,” said Sagula. “She is really important going forward into games this weekend. I think she is getting better. I really like how she passed.”
Mariah Evans and Abigail Curry did a good job distributing the ball to all five attackers, as Evans put up 18 assists and five digs while Curry totaled 16 assists, eight digs and one of UNC's three aces.
Libero Sheila Doyle led Carolina's back line with 10 digs in the three-setter, and fellow senior Tatiana Durr was a key contributor in the serve and pass game and totaled five digs.
“(Tatiana) is an incredible server,” said Fricano. “She is very scrappy on defense. She knows the game well. She reads well. Every time she goes out there she amazes me at her talent. Her positivity on the court is really great too. To see that coming into this weekend, I just got goosebumps. She is really close to my heart. She is a big reason why we did so well this weekend when we were at points where we were low.”
The Tar Heels dominated at the net, tallying 10 blocks over just three sets, led by Fricano who posted her second straight seven-block performance—both matching her career high.
A strong run served out by Evans gave Carolina a quick 10-4 lead to start the match. The Orange took advantage of Tar Heel errors to pull back within one, 13-12, but a block by Treacy and Fricano kept UNC on top. A great serving stretch by Durr helped Carolina extend the lead to 20-15, and a kill by Treacy finished off the first set, 25-21.
Carolina once again opened with a hot streak in the second set, racing ahead 10-3 off two blocks from Fricano and McCorkle and back-to-back Borup kills. The Tar Heels kept the pressure on, running away with the frame, 25-12, closed out by a McCorkle kill. UNC hit .382 in the set, with four kills each by Borup, Treacy and Leath.
“Our team is really working on controlling the controllables,” said Leath. “The first set we had serving errors, hitting errors, every kind of error you could have. The second set we really played clean volleyball. We served really well. Mariah had a great run. Everyone was playing more together. Eliminating the errors is really key for us.”
A kill by Borup gave UNC an early 8-5 lead in the third, but Syracuse surged back on three straight kills by Anastasiya Gorelina to tie the score at eight. Gorelina then served up a run for the Orange to give SU its first real lead of the match, 13-10, and a Tar Heel attack error furthered Carolina's deficit, 19-15.
“We spoke about it before the match that one of the things this team knows how to do is come back,” said Sagula. “I like that they have that confidence, but I don't want to be put in that situation too often. They never panic in those situations. They think we will find a way.”
And after calling timeout, UNC did just that, as Leath exploded for two straight kills to shift the momentum, and a pair of blocks gave the Heels back the lead, 20-19. Syracuse ended a long rally with a block by Gorelina and Leah Levert to tie the score, but Curry served up a four-point run, including an ace, to reach match point, and a Syracuse service error ended the match, as UNC completed the sweep, 25-21.
The Tar Heels return to the road for the final away trip of the season, kicking off the four-match road swing at Virginia Tech on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.
