University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
25-3, 17-1ACC
Virginia
7-22, 4-13ACC
Strong Serving Leads Heels To Sweep Of Cavaliers
November 19, 2016 | Volleyball
 |
| Postgame Infographic |
CHAPEL HILL – No. 6 North Carolina used a balanced, efficient attack and dominant serving to take down Virginia (7-22, 4-13 ACC) in straight sets (28-26, 25-16, 25-18) on Friday night and capture its 14th sweep victory of the season. With the win and Duke's loss to No. 17 Florida State, the Tar Heels (25-3, 17-1 ACC) clinched at least a share of the 2016 ACC title. The Heels will have the opportunity to secure the outright championship in their next match on Wednesday, Nov. 23, against rival Duke (20-7, 14-3 ACC).
“I think we came out tonight looking flat,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Defense wasn't as sharp as I wanted. We blocked OK, but not as good as we're used to. Our goal was to try to slow down #9 (Jasmine Burton) a bit more, but she played really well for them. Overall, I think it was a good match in terms of hitting percentage, but I thought our defense could be a little better.”
The ACC's most efficient offense minimized its errors once again on Friday night, as Carolina posted its fourth straight match hitting above .300 with a team attack clip of .364. Julia Scoles led the charge with 10 kills, hitting .381, while Beth Nordhorn and Taylor Leath each totaled eight. Hayley McCorkle posted seven kills without an error to hit .583, while Taylor Fricano slammed six kills with a .625 clip.
“Beth is automatic,” said Fricano of her fellow middle. “Beth, when she goes in, you know she's going to find a way – even with a really bad set, and she got some sets (tonight) that weren't the best – she does great things with them. She squeaks them through the block, she shoots them to a deep corner, and she's very good offensively. It's comforting knowing that if she gets a bad set, that we're still going to have a chance.”
“Beth and Taylor Fricano's play have helped us tremendously down the stretch this season,” said Sagula. “We're getting so much more offense from our middles combined, and their hard work has paid off. We're seeing the results of that work.”
A tremendous serving run by Fricano turned the tables for the Tar Heels in the second set, as the middle hitter served up a team-season-high five aces in the match. It is the ninth time during the rally scoring era (since 2001) that a Tar Heel has posted five or more aces in a match and the first time since 2014. Sheila Doyle added a pair of aces, as Carolina was one shy of its season best with eight in the match.
“I thought that Taylor got into a good rhythm,” said Sagula. “I asked my assistant if it was her birthday today. It started with a really bad toss that she went after and played aggressively, and it turned out well. When she did that, I think she got on a roll. I thought that was great. I think she learned something from that. That's what I like: that she can toss it, go after it, and be much more aggressive with her serve. It really helped us get out of a funk.”
Fricano was essential to Carolina's blocking game as well, participating in all seven blocks, including a solo stuff in the second set. Scoles, McCorkle and Leath each assisted on two blocks and freshman setter Mariah Evans registered her first career stuff on set point in the first.
Senior Abigail Curry recorded a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs, while Evans tallied 12 assists and Doyle posted 15 digs.
“I told the team that Abbey was the best defensive player tonight,” said Sagula. “I was really happy with her. She stepped up.”
Virginia libero Lexi Riccolo served up an ace on the first play of the match, but Carolina did not allow another ace the rest of the match, siding out at 75 percent, including 87 percent in the second set.
The first set went down to the wire, with 18 tie scores and seven lead changes. Three straight kills by Jasmine Burton put Virginia ahead 23-21, but a kill by Leath tied the score at 23. UVA had two chances at set point, 24-23 and 25-24, but a kill and a block by Scoles flipped the score to make it 26-25 UNC. Haley Kole struck a kill to tie it at 26, but Treacy replied with a kill to set up the fourth set point of the set. With UNC out of subs, Treacy went back to serve, then Fricano teamed up with Evans on the freshman setter's first career block to win the first set, 28-26.
The second set began much like the first until Fricano stepped behind the service line and served up a dominating six-point run with four aces to push Carolina ahead, 22-13. A kill by Nordhorn made it set point and McCorkle closed out the set with a kill from the middle to take it, 25-16.
“I'm a really goofy person, so when that ball was out there in front of me, I couldn't believe what had just happened, and my team couldn't either,” said Fricano of the first ace. “So everyone was smiling and cheering. It was like this whole new rise of second-wind energy came up. After that, I was joking with the line judge, I was joking with my coaches, and I was joking with my teammates. It just felt like I was in practice. I got really confident and went back there and served.”
Back-to-back Fricano blocks gave UNC a quick 5-1 lead to begin the third set, and the Tar Heels maintained control throughout, taking a 21-14 lead on a kill by McCorkle. Virginia battled to cut the deficit to four, 22-18, but the Heels rattled off three straight, concluding with a McCorkle kill, to seal the third, 25-18, and complete the sweep.
Carolina heads into the final week of the regular season, returning to Carmichael on Wednesday, Nov. 23, for a visit from crosstown rival Duke at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils are still in the mix to tie for the ACC title, while UNC can secure the outright ACC Championship with a win on Wednesday.
“We have been striving for this since last year,” said Fricano. “We lost the conference title last year at Duke, so we've been working and working to take every game by itself as a road block, to see it for what it is. Now that we're past Virginia and just see Duke, we know we're getting to the end, and everybody is just so ready to keep chugging forward. We're excited to play Duke, because they're a very good team, but we're just pumped.”
