University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
4-6, 1-1ACC
Louisville
7-5, 1-1ACC
Tar Heels Erase 0-2 Deficit To Win ACC Home Opener
September 24, 2017 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – For the second time in as many matches, North Carolina headed into the locker room trailing two sets to none. For the second time, the Tar Heels emerged a changed squad, winning sets three and four to tie the match and force a deciding fifth set. But yet again, Carolina dug itself into an early hole, trailing 7-3 in the short tie-breaker. However, after dropping the ACC opener to NC State on Friday night, North Carolina's defense propelled itself all the way back on Sunday, winning the fifth set, 15-12, to defeat Louisville, 3-2 (19-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-19, 15-12). With the win, UNC improves to 4-6 (1-1 ACC), while Louisville drops to 7-5 (1-1 ACC).
"Without a question, the best defensive play we've had all year," said head coach Joe Sagula. "We had to, because Louisville is a tenacious team. It's hard to put the ball down on one swing. I have a lot of respect for them, they're having a good season, had a big win against Notre Dame (on Friday). For us to be able to do this, I thought took really, really gutsy play."
North Carolina led a balanced attack, with five players totaling nine or more kills, led by Taylor Leath with 11. Beth Nordhorn and Holly Carlton each had 10 kills, while Sydnye Fields and Sehrena Hull both had nine.
"Sydnye Fields did a great job on the right side, had some big-time blocks," said Sagula. "Leath came back in and had two big kills in the fifth set. I'm just really proud of the team. They deserve this win. They've earned it. They've been through so much and I think this could be a big match for us to learn from."
Carlton and Kendra Koetter split setting duties, tallying 23 assists apiece and combining for 13 digs and three aces. Matched with her 10 kills, Carlton completed her fifth consecutive double-double.
Junior Casey Jacobs, in her second start at libero, led the match with a career-high 22 digs. Hull narrowly missed her first double-double with a personal-best 17 digs and two blocks, while Greer Moseman, in her first match back on the Carolina roster, tallied eight digs.
"Casey played great," said Sagula. "Her career high (in digs) without question. The addition with bringing back Greer was what we needed. We needed more defense and to have Greer be able to come in—and MG (Hough) made some great plays at the end, clutch plays and serving, and then Sehrena Hull. We played well in the front row, but I think the back-row players really helped us win this match today, and there's not many times you can say that. They put us in a position to win with just some tenacious play."
North Carolina put up a season-high 13.0 blocks as a team, led by Taylor Fricano and Fields, with seven and six, respectively. Nordhorn tallied four, including teaming up with Hull on match point, and Leath added three. Every Tar Heel who significant playing time in the front row posted at least two blocks in the match.
"We served tough enough to get them out of system," said Fields. "When they are out of system, you know where the ball is going to go so you are able to set yourself up in a better position and go into block. Whenever they are in system and they have all their options, it makes it more difficult to be there on time, but I think our serving was a good attribute for that."
North Carolina led 9-7 early in the first set, but a 6-0 Louisville run heading into the media timeout pushed the Cardinals in front, 16-10. A block by Hull and Fricano cut the deficit in half, 17-14, but that was as close as UNC would come, and back-to-back kills by Melanie McHenry secured the opener for Louisville, 25-19.
The second set echoed the first, as the Cardinals pulled ahead 13-10 midway through the frame and hung onto the advantage for the remainder of the set. An ace by Koetter cut their lead to two, 19-17, but Louisville won six of the next seven points to close out the second, 25-18.
Louisville pulled ahead 13-10 once again in the third set, but Moseman subbed in a served the Tar Heels on a 6-0 run thanks to two kills and a block by Fields to put Carolina in front, 18-14. Two kills by Nordhorn made it 23-18, and a block by Fricano and Leath sealed the third set, 25-18.
North Carolina controlled the fourth set, pulling ahead 9-4 early. Louisville battled back to within two, 11-9, but the Tar Heels marched right back in front, 16-11. A kill by Hull made it 22-17, and Nordhorn had the final swing as Carolina won the fourth, 25-19, to force a fifth set.
Carlton opened the fifth set with a service ace, but Louisville gained momentum from winning a challenge on the next play and flew ahead, 7-3. A kill and a block by Leath pulled UNC with one, 9-8, then a Fields-Fricano block tied the score at 11. A Cardinal attack error put the Tar Heels on top, 12-11, and a service error made it 13-12. McHenry hit one long and out of bounds to set up match point, then Hull and Nordhorn made a stop at the net to complete the the comeback with a 15-12 victory in set five.
"It felt so good," said Jacobs. "So good. I think the loss at NC State stung a little bit more than other losses, because we really found that energy that sticks, where you can flow with your teammates. In the third and fourth sets we just felt it, where you don't even know what the score is. It's magical. That loss stung pretty bad. Today, we were very determined that was not going to happen again. We went out and got the job done."
The ACC season continues on the road next weekend, as North Carolina travels south for Clemson and Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels will face the Tigers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, before a nationally-televised match against the Yellow Jackets on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
