University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
6-1
Minnesota
5-1
Tar Heels Suffer First Defeat To No. 5 Minnesota, 3-1
September 11, 2016 | Volleyball
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| Postgame Infographic |
CHAPEL HILL – No. 11 North Carolina's undefeated streak ended at six on Saturday night, as No. 5 Minnesota (5-1) took down UNC (6-1) in four sets to win the 2016 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Minnesota's fast offense was too much for Carolina to handle in the first two sets (25-11, 25-12), but the Tar Heels came back from the locker room with a new mentality to win the third, 25-22. UNC led for the majority of the fourth set as well, but the Golden Gophers pulled away late to end the match in the fourth, 25-21.
“It was time for us to learn and this got our attention,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “I still think we're a really good team. This Minnesota team is a Final Four caliber team, they're that good. They play fast and we had to adjust. We took two sets to adjust tonight. Two weeks ago (against Penn State) we adjusted after one set. That was the difference.
“To their credit, they played great and they served so well. They worked on the right people against us. For all the players that didn't produce what they were used to doing, it will get their attention and it'll come back onto the drawing board at practice.”
Freshman Taylor Borup provided pivotal offense for the Tar Heels, putting up a personal-best 17 kills over the final three sets of the match.
“She's just unbelievable on the outside and she loves the fourth set,” said Sagula. “I thought she was really good not just for the kills but for what we're looking at technically; her transition movement was so much better. Getting off the net and really being involved for a quiet person. She started to come out a bit and that was really awesome.”
“I think for me I just wanted to help the team out in any way that I could,” said Borup. “I felt prepared, and the girls were also really encouraging too. I knew Sheila and Casey and all the back row had my back, and they kept on saying swing aggressively. We can't go out being timid. We have to keep fighting.”
Taylor Leath registered 13 kills in the match, hitting an impressive .370, to earn a place on the All-Tournament Team. Senior libero Sheila Doyle followed a 27-dig match with a match-high 17 against Minnesota to join Leath with All-Tournament honors.
“Sheila just played like a veteran,” said Sagula. “She was the most steady emotionally and mentally. She was trying to inspire the team in the timeouts and on the sideline. They didn't serve her much and that hurt us. Then she started to take more control of the court. Overall she had a great weekend and I'm just so proud of what she's done as a senior leader and captain.”
Senior Abigail Curry directed the Tar Heels' offense with 32 assists and eight digs, as well as the first Carolina kill of the match, while Mariah Evans put up 12 assists and eight digs.
Minnesota gave the Tar Heels a taste of their own medicine, slamming 14.5 blocks as compared to 9.5 by UNC. The Golden Gophers out-hit UNC .333 to .180, with All-Tournament attackers Alexis Hart (17 kills) and Hannah Tapp (15) both hitting over .300.
Carolina struggled on serve receive in the first set, falling behind quickly 6-1, and dropping the first set, 25-11. Minnesota hit .440 with three aces in the set, while UNC was held to -.040 after making eight hitting errors in the opening frame.
The Tar Heels continued to struggle in the second set, with a bright spot from freshman Taylor Borup, who came in and slammed six kills. Minnesota however did not commit an error in the frame, hitting .455 with four more blocks to take the second, 25-12.
“I would like to know why, but it seemed for the first six matches of the year, we played above our grade. The freshmen didn't play like freshmen, the sophomores didn't play like sophomores, but today everybody played way below their grade. Once we started passing poorly, I think we got tight and we made unforced errors. We were down so much so early that we were climbing uphill and we just couldn't get out of it. We couldn't find enough positive plays in a row.”
Carolina burst out of the halftime break with a new energy and determination, quickly taking a 3-1 lead on a Borup-Nordhorn block. The Tar Heels increased the lead to 7-3, but Minnesota fought back to within one, 10-9. UNC maintained its advantage until a Tar Heel attack error tied the score at 15. A Fricano kill kept the Gophers from pulling ahead, but Minnesota kept the pressure on and a kill by Hannah Tapp made it 19-18 UM. A block by Laufenberg and Fricano gave UNC its first set point, and Borup finished the set with her seventh kill of the frame to win it for UNC, 25-22.
“Going into the locker room at halftime, Taylor Leath gave us a really good talk and just said, 'Play Carolina Volleyball,'” said Borup. “I don't think we were prepared for the first two sets, but coming out, Coach said, 'Play Carolina Volleyball,”. I think that we really did and we put up a good fight at the end. That's all we could have done.”
The Tar Heels took control again in the fourth set, opening up an early 6-2 lead. Minnesota raced back to tie the score at six, but UNC forced right back ahead, 8-6. The Golden Gophers continued to fight back and finally overtook the lead late in the set, 18-17, with a block. A pair of attack errors later, Minnesota led 20-17, and the Tar Heels never recovered, dropping the fourth set, 25-21, and taking their first loss of the year.
“I was saying at the end while we were huddling up that being undefeated and not experiencing failure throughout the season is one of the worst things that can happen, because you haven't had that opportunity to learn where you may suffer or where you have some faults,” said Curry. “We've been talking a lot about using failure as a gift, so I think this is going to be good to help us realize we have a lot of work to do. I honestly think it's a positive thing that we experienced this early so that we're prepared later on.”
Curry and the Tar Heels have a week of practice to work on those adjustments before flying to Fort Worth, Texas, for the final preconference tournament of the season. The Tar Heels open the TCU Horned Frog Invitational on Friday, Sept. 16, at 3 p.m. ET against Sam Houston State. UNC will then face SMU on Saturday morning followed by a rematch with the host TCU.
ACC/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team
Alexis Hart, Minnesota
Hannah Tapp, Minnesota
Sheila Doyle, North Carolina
Taylor Leath, North Carolina
Haleigh Nelson, Wisconsin
Tionna Williams, Wisconsin
Molly Sauer, Louisville
