North Carolina
1-4
LIU Brooklyn
4-4
Tar Heels Sweep Blackbirds in 2017 Home Opener
September 8, 2017 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina volleyball enjoyed a happy homecoming on Friday night, picking up its first victory of the season with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-21) win over LIU Brooklyn in the 2017 home opener. Carolina had three upperclassmen with double-digit kills and hit a season-high .287 in the straight-set victory. The win lifts UNC to 1-4, while LIU Brooklyn drops to 4-4.
"It didn't just happen," said head coach Joe Sagula. "I give LIU credit for staying in the game and making us earn it. They're a team that didn't get flustered throughout the match and I told the team they're not going to go away. We found some different ways to earn some points at the end, which I was proud of.
"We had really good offense tonight from (Beth) Nordhorn, (Taylor) Fricano and (Taylor) Leath. We still have to cut back on a couple errors, we're still learning, but I'm really happy for the team. To get a 3-0 win at this point in the season for us—not just the win but to do it 3-0—will help us prepare for the next match. All those things help us."
After a tough stint on the road, Carolina was welcomed home by a strong, supportive crowd of 2,297.
"It's really great seeing the crowd here because not only do you have your team getting excited, but you see the whole crowd erupting and we have the band playing," said senior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn. "It's really great. We really appreciate the community."
Redshirt junior Taylor Leath led the match with a team-season-high 16 kills, including eight in the first set alone. Redshirt senior Taylor Fricano hit .526 with 11 kills and just a single error on the right side, while Nordhorn hit .615 with 10 kills from the middle.
"It was so exciting seeing our team really hitting our stride, especially being a hitter," said Nordhorn. "(I make) the third contact, so I can't do what I do without the first pass being so great and Holly (Carlton) and Kendra (Koetter) working really hard, also."
"It feels good to have confidence and to let your arm go a little bit," said Leath. "I think that this game was big for not only me but for the whole team to kind of get in a groove and set the tone for what we want our team to look like going forward, no matter who we are playing."
Redshirt freshman Holly Carlton tallied 27 assists to go with three kills and five digs, while Kendra Koetter put up 12 assists. Both setters, as well as defensive specialists Maddie Grace Hough and Mia Fradenburg, landed an ace.
Fradenburg, a sophomore libero, led the Tar Heels with 14 digs and picked up her first career kill, while junior Casey Jacobs, making her first career start at defensive specialist, had a personal-best 12 digs.
"Casey did a really good job playing in the middle back position tonight," said Sagula. "She made some really good saves behind her, she made some really good saves in front. I was really actually pleasantly surprised. I thought she struggled a little bit in the first set, but she got better and better."
Carolina posted its second consecutive double-digit blocking performance, totaling 11.5 over just three sets. Redshirt freshman Katharine Esterley, who made her first career start and just her second-ever appearance, led the match with six block assists, while Fricano and Nordhorn each had five and Madison Laufenberg assisted on four.
"Katharine blocked really well for us and that's what her strength is," said Sagula. "We just wanted to give her a chance. She did a great job for us. She really touched a lot of balls at the net and gave us some positive energy. It was an easy connection for us."
LIU Brooklyn opened the match with an 8-4 lead, but Carolina battled back to tie the score at 10 off back-to-back blocks by Esterley and Fricano. LIU pushed back in front, but three straight kills by Leath gave the Heels their first lead of the set, 13-12. The Blackbirds tied the score at 17, then took a 19-18 lead, but a kill and a block by Fricano gave UNC back the lead. LIU flipped the score to get on top, 22-21, but two straight kills by Nordhorn gave the Tar Heels the win, 25-23. Leath had eight kills in the opening set, while Nordhorn was a perfect 6-for-6 and Esterley, in her first career start, slammed four blocks.
After the score was knotted at 10 in the second, Koetter led Carolina on an 8-0 service run, including four kills by Leath, to take a dominating 20-11 lead. The Blackbirds fought off one set point, but Fricano closed out the frame with a kill as UNC took a 2-0 match lead with a 25-16 decision in the second.
The Blackbirds won the first three points of the third set, but a block and a Carlton kill helped the Tar Heels pull in front 7-6. After the score read 9-8, Carolina went on a 9-1 run, winning four straight then another five in a row to seemingly put the match away, 18-10. However, LIU held strong, using a 5-0 run of its own to pull back within three, 18-15. Three service errors helped LIU stay in the match, but Fricano had the final say, slamming UNC's last two kills to win the third set, 25-21, and put a mark in the win column for Carolina.
"We have made a lot of progress," said Leath. "We've been putting a lot of different girls on the court and working with that team chemistry. Playing next to each other, it can be difficult sometimes. We've definitely gotten to be more comfortable with each other as a team and as a unit."
The Carolina Classic continues on Saturday, Sept. 9, with a neutral match between LIU Brooklyn and LSU at 3 p.m. The Tar Heels return to action on Sunday, Sept. 10, taking on LSU at 1 p.m. in the Classic finale.
