North Carolina
8-7, 5-2ACC
Virginia Tech
7-11, 1-6ACC
Tar Heels Open Late Night With 3-1 Victory Over Virginia Tech
October 13, 2017 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina volleyball kicked off the annual Late Night with Roy event on Friday night, defeating Virginia Tech, 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-16). The Heels played in front of a five-figure crowd at the storied Dean E. Smith Center as part of the preseason basketball festivities which culminated in the unveiling of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship banner. After making eight hitting errors in the first set, Carolina's offense limited itself to just seven over the next three sets to finish the match with a season-high .306 attack percentage. With the win, Carolina moves above .500 for the first time at 8-7 (5-2 ACC), while Virginia Tech falls to 7-11 (1-6 ACC).
"It was just awesome to play in the Dean Dome, to win and to make Carolina fans and Tar Heels proud," said outside hitter Taylor Leath, who led the Tar Heels in kills and aces on Friday. "There are very few words for it. It's definitely different, the space is different, the balls move differently. I think today is a great day to be a Tar Heel just like every other day. It was great to have so much support and so many fans out there. All the cheers—it made me proud to put this jersey on."
The Tar Heels played at the Smith Center for the 36th time in program history, opening Late Night with Roy for the seventh time since setting an NCAA Volleyball attendance record at the first event in 2003. Friday night's win preserved the Heels' perfect record at Late Night, as the Heels are now 7-0 with their sixth crowd exceeding 10,000 fans.
"Without question, to walk in here and before you even enter in the building, two hours before the match, people are already showing up," said head coach Joe Sagula. "Now, we're realists here. They're not only here to see us, but it gives you a thrill to walk out when there's already about 8,000 people in the stands. There were a lot of people here that didn't know the game. I could tell that they appreciated that type of athletic move and the power behind that. I think that inspires the people who don't know the game to appreciate it and then they get thrilled. I think everybody wants to play here and play in front of this type of crowd to show what a great sport we have and what we have going on here at Carolina."
Leath led the Tar Heels with 17 kills in the match, hitting .385, with a career-high five service aces. Redshirt freshman Holly Carlton registered her eighth double-double season with a career-high 14 kills to go with 15 assists. Beth Nordhorn was the third Tar Heel in double digits, tallying 10 kills and just a single error to hit .500 on the night, and Taylor Borup followed with eight slams.
Kendra Koetter led the Tar Heels in assists with 23, sending a good portion of those towards fellow-setter Carlton. Libero Casey Jacobs finished the night with a match-high 16 digs, while Leath just missed a double-double with nine. Greer Moseman provided a boost in the back row, putting up seven digs and two aces.
"I think (Greer) comes in with a lot of talk, a lot of confidence and she holds to the left-back position really well," said Sagula. "She's a scrappy left-back defender. When we're struggling and she plays like that, it gives the team a lift. She can make a great save and keep us in a set. She's willing to throw her body around and make some defensive plays and she adds good energy."
Carolina's double-digit blocking streak ended at 11 on Friday night, but UNC still out-blocked the Hokies, 8.5 to 4.0. Taylor Fricano led the charge with five stuffs, followed by three each from Carlton and Katharine Esterley.
"I have to say, I applaud a lot of the players who fought through things tonight," said Sagula. "Stomach viruses and things like that. Three players tonight didn't practice yesterday. I think we had eight people on the court to practice just for health reasons. You name it, we've had it."
North Carolina led 12-9 off a kill by Carlton, but a service error put the ball in the hands of Rhegan Mitchell, who served up a 5-0 run to put the Hokies on top, 14-12. Virginia Tech continued to roll, pushing ahead 21-14 to force a Carolina timeout. UNC stormed out of the timeout to win five out of six and soon cut the deficit to two, 24-22, but a block by Kaity Smith and Kai Young secured the first set for the Hokies, 25-22.
Carolina pulled ahead 7-4 early in the second set on Leath's third ace of the match. The Hokies tied the score at nine, but an Esterley block and a Moseman ace helped UNC go right back in front, 12-9. Carolina extended the lead to 18-13 then reached set point, 24-19, on a kill by Carlton. VT wiped off two attempts, but Leath finished it off with a kill as UNC evened the match with a 25-21 win in the second.
After a service ace by Mitchell tied the score 7-7, Carolina raced ahead with an 8-1 run to make it 15-8. UNC continued to cruise, as a kill by Borup made it 19-10. Virginia Tech chipped away at the deficit, pulling as close as four, 24-20, but a kill by Nordhorn ended the third, 25-20. Carlton propelled the Heels with eight kills in the set to reach a double-double.
The Tar Heels raced out to a 13-4 lead to open the fourth set, but Virginia Tech used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 14-12. However, Carolina followed with a 6-0 run to race right back in front, 20-12 on two blocks then two kills by Leath. Leath's 17th kill of night set up match point, then the team captain sealed the victory with her fifth service ace to win the fourth set, 25-16, and take the match 3-1.
"I'm really happy at how we got better in the match," said Sagula. "Without question, that seems to be our MO of the season—from the way we start to the way we finish, we get better and better."
North Carolina's homestand continues on Saturday, Oct. 14, with a visit from Virginia. The Tar Heels return to Carmichael Arena for the ACC matchup with the Cavaliers at 5:30 p.m.
