University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
20-3, 12-1ACC
Miami
11-14, 5-8ACC
Balanced Attack Leads Tar Heels Past Hurricanes, 3-1
November 5, 2016 | Volleyball
 |
| Postgame Infographic |
Coral Gables, Fla. – No. 12 North Carolina returned to its winning ways on Friday night, battling to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 23-25, 26-24) victory over Miami (11-14, 5-8 ACC). After cruising to a 2-0 match lead, the Tar Heels found themselves in an 18-10 hole in the fourth set, but UNC fought all the way back to win the set, 26-24, and seal the match in four sets.
“Im just so proud of this team to hang in there and to have such a great comeback,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “That's something we haven't done since early in the season, and I'm so proud and excited for them to pull out a gritty win like this. To be up and play so well, and then for Miami to give us a great, great effort—our blocking was phenomenal at the end. So many people made some big plays.”
Carolina (20-3, 12-1 ACC) entered the match tied with No. 10 Florida State at the top of the ACC standings, but the Seminoles suffered a five-set loss to NC State tonight as the Tar Heels regained sole possession of first place. UNC will have a shot to solidify its lead on Sunday, when the Heels travel across the state for a rematch with FSU at 1 p.m.
The Tar Heels led an extremely balanced attack, with six attackers taking between 16 and 27 swings. Freshman Taylor Borup led the Tar Heels with 11 kills over three sets, while Beth Nordhorn, Taylor Treacy and Taylor Leath each had nine.
“It's something we've been working towards, to have a more balanced approach instead of focusing on one or two players, and that means a lot going forward,” said Sagula. “I think it's going to help us down the road to know that we can play like that. We were passing well. We got a lot more balls to our middle hitters—32 attempts from our middle, we haven't had that in quite some time; our setters did a nice job.”
Julia Scoles returned to the lineup after missing four matches with an injury and slammed seven kills, while Taylor Fricano added five.
“It was a great way to get Julia Scoles back,” said Sagula. “She came in and did a really great job to work her way back. She had a big solo block and a big kill at the end to help us win it. I'm really excited to see her back on the court.”
Carolina's blocking was lights out once again, totaling 15.5 stuffs, including seven each by middles Nordhorn and Fricano and five by Treacy.
The Tar Heels won the serve and pass game, as six different Tar Heels served up an ace, including a fantastic performance by Leath who landed two aces without making an error. UNC's defense allowed just three aces to the Hurricanes, including returning every serve by Olga Strantzali, who leads the ACC in aces for the second straight season.
Libero Sheila Doyle paced the back line with 18 digs in the match while Leath recorded eight and Scoles tallied four. Abigail Curry and Mariah Evans dished out 22 and 20 assists, respectively, and Doyle chipped in an additional six.
Curry served the Tar Heels out to a 5-0 lead to open the match, but the Hurricanes battled back to tie the score at 10. A kill by Leath helped the Tar Heels press ahead 14-11, but Miami fought back again and took its first lead of the night, 15-14, on a block by Lucia Pampana and Olga Strantzali. A kill by Borup put Carolina back on top, 16-15, and the Tar Heels dominated the remainder of the frame, closing out the first on an 11-3 run to take the opener, 25-18.
A block by McCorkle and Fricano kicked off a six-point run to put the Tar Heels ahead 11-4 early in the second set. The Tar Heels held firm to their lead, never allowing the Hurricanes closer than five, and a slam by Treacy ended the set for Carolina, 25-16.
Carolina took an early lead, but errors began to add up, allowing Miami to overtake the lead midway through the set, 16-14. A kill by Olga Strantzali made it set point, 24-21, but the Tar Heels did not back down, as back-to-back kills by Borup erased two attempts and pulled UNC within one, 24-23. Nevertheless, a kill by Kolby Bird finished it off, 25-23, and extended the match.
Miami dominated in the fourth set, quickly pulling ahead 5-2 off four kills by Strantzali, and soon held a daunting, 18-10, lead. The Tar Heels did not back down, battling to cut the deficit in half, 22-18, off an ace by Leath and a solo block by Fricano. Senior Taylor Treacy took control down the stretch, hammering four kills on the final six plays, as Greer Moseman served out the match including a key ace to shock the Hurricanes and take the match in four sets, 26-24.
“I have to say that Greer coming in was like the Ice Man—Ice Woman—on the court,” said Sagula. “She came in there, had four great serves in a row, big digs to save it for us, and we just learned how to put it away. Everybody just stepped up at the right time.
“This is a big big win for us, to keep momentum going. I'm proud for us to have this team earn 20 wins on the season. It's a really important win for us.”
