University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
3-6, 0-1ACC
NC State
6-6, 1-0ACC
Comeback Falls Short In ACC Opener
September 23, 2017 | Volleyball
RALEIGH – North Carolina battled back from down 0-2 at NC State to force a tie-breaking fifth set, but the Wolfpack held on to win, 15-11, and take the ACC season opener, 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 18-25, 15-11). The win was the first for the Wolfpack (6-6, 1-0 ACC) over the Tar Heels (3-6, 0-1 ACC) since 2012, ending Carolina's 10-match winning streak against its in-state neighbor.
"I'm disappointed, because we haven't lost to NC State in quite some time," said head coach Joe Sagula. "I told the team it was a challenging match to coach, because I didn't know what to expect. Our overall flow of the game was so erratic. One of the things that was hurting us early was our ball control and our passing, so we decided to keep Sehrena in there for ball control, and that helped us."
True freshman Sehrena Hull was integral in North Carolina's comeback, staying in to play all six rotations in the final three sets and picking up her first career kill and block. The 5-foot-7 defensive specialist, who played outside hitter in high school, registered a team-season-high three service aces, eight digs and two assists, while slamming four kills with no errors and teaming up with Beth Nordhorn for her first-ever block assist.
"Seeing her do it tonight was exciting," said Sagula. "I know she's really athletic, and I just told her to swing hard, swing with confidence, and she did. The key was that her first couple of swings were successful, gave her confidence, and she felt like, 'Hey, I can do this.' She's athletic and competed hard, and that's all we want."
"I was definitely nervous at first, but my team helped me gain the confidence that I needed to swing," said Hull. "Those first few swings, like Coach said, where I got points made me gain a little more confidence, so it was a lot of fun for me out there."
Taylor Leath led North Carolina's offense with 18 kills, making it a double-double with 11 digs and a season-high four blocks. Senior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn, who entered the match leading the ACC with a .427 hitting percentage, hit .538 with a career-high 16 kills, while Sydnye Fields turned in seven on the right side, hitting .400.
"The best player tonight, I think, was Beth Nordhorn," said Sagula. "She was just automatic when we got her the ball. I wish we could have gotten the ball to her more."
Redshirt freshman Holly Carlton registered her third consecutive double-double with 28 assists and 11 digs, nearing her second straight triple-double with eight kills. Kendra Koetter teamed up for 18 assists and five digs and went a perfect 2-for-2 on swings.
Junior Casey Jacobs suited up at libero for the first time since the first weekend of her career, leading the match with a career-high 17 digs as well as a personal-best 11 assists. Jacobs appeared at libero in three sets over two matches as a freshman in 2015, but had never played a full match as the lead defensive player before Friday's contest.
"I thought she actually handled herself pretty well," said Sagula. "Like the team, early in the first two sets she was trying to find her way. But in the fourth and fifth she really raised her level, served tough, and really dug some balls and looked confident passing. I thought she did a pretty good job. I was very, very happy to see her step in in a tough situation."
After putting together just three blocks over the first three sets, Carolina stepped up for seven over the final two to finish the night with 10.0. The upswing was fueled by Taylor Fricano's return to middle hitter, where she stuffed seven blocks to go with five kills and an ace.
A 4-0 run by NC State pushed the Wolfpack ahead 12-7 midway through the first set, a lead it would extend to 20-12 with the help of two straight blocks. After trailing 22-14, the Tar Heels won six of the next seven points to pull within three, 23-20, but a kill by Bree Bailey finished it off for the Wolfpack, 25-21.
NC State took control early in the second set, winning four of the first five points, and never allowed the Tar Heels closer than two. UNC wiped off three NC State attempts at set point, but Melissa Evans was successful on the fourth, as the Wolfpack took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-17 decision in the second.
The Wolfpack had the early lead in the third set, but North Carolina won three straight to tie the score at eight, and an attack error gave the Tar Heels their first lead, 11-10. A kill by Nordhorn made it 13-11 and a solo block by the senior increased the lead to 15-12. NC State came back to tie the score at 16, but UNC replied with four in a row to push back in front, 20-16, and a kill from Nordhorn secured set three, keeping the Tar Heels alive with a 25-21 win in the third. Carolina hit .467 in the third set after hitting .194 through the first two.
"Taylor Leath, our captain, had a really great talk in the locker room (between sets two and three)," said Fricano. "She told us, 'This is our family, you have to fight for this family. Don't worry about the fans, don't worry about other people, don't worry about yourself even. Look to the person to your left, to your right, play for them.' And I think that struck home for a lot of people. It gave us a new perspective and a new focus going into the third and fourth set."
Carolina took an 8-4 lead off a kill and an ace by Fricano, and the Tar Heels maintained the advantage for the rest of the set, as two Leath kills represented UNC's final two points, forcing a deciding fifth set with a 25-18 victory.
NC State got off to a 3-0 start in the short fifth set, and after a kill by Fields put UNC on the board, a service error gave NC State back control. Leath slammed a kill to make it 4-2, but State forced three straight Carolina errors to pull in front, 8-2. A strong service run by Maddie Grace Hough cut the deficit in half, 8-5, but UNC was unable to pull any closer and soon found itself facing match point, 14-9. The Wolfpack made back-to-back errors to keep the Heels alive, but a kill by Julia Brown sealed the win, 15-11, to give NC State its first win over North Carolina in five years.
"Seven hitting errors in the fifth set—that was it," said Sagula. "That was the match for us. We just can't make that many hitting errors, especially in the short set. And I was surprised, after playing so well. I felt we had kept the pressure on NC State and I thought they were going to come out tight in the fifth set, and we never utilized that to help us."
North Carolina returns home on Sunday, Sept. 24, to host Louisville in the first home ACC match of the year. The Cardinals (7-4, 1-0 ACC) also went to five sets on Friday night, taking down Notre Dame, 3-2, in their conference opener. UNC will face U of L at 1 p.m.
