University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
7-7, 4-2ACC
Wake Forest
10-8, 2-4ACC
Tar Heels Defeat Demon Deacons, 3-2, In Annual Pink Match
October 8, 2017 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina completed its first ACC weekend sweep on Sunday afternoon, holding on to defeat Wake Forest, 3-2 (17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 14-25, 15-5), in the annual pink match to support breast cancer awareness. After opening the season 0-4, Carolina evens its record to 7-7 on the year and improves to 4-2 in the ACC, while Wake Forest falls to 10-8 (2-4 ACC).
North Carolina dropped the first set, then took a 2-1 match lead by winning sets two and three. The Tar Heels stumbled in the fourth set, falling 25-14, but stormed out in the fifth set to capture the match with a dominant 15-5 decision in the tiebreaker.
"I usually talk about attack errors, but today we made defensive errors and serving errors," said head coach Joe Sagula. "We have to play a clean game. We have to find a way to get so excited and have a sense of urgency. It will come. It will come through maturity. I'm just so proud that we can win at the end and not fall apart. That is the most important thing. We might be slow-starting. Maybe that is who we are, but eventually we will find the right combination and figure it out."
Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Borup returned to the lineup for the first time on Friday night after missing eight matches with a leg injury. The 2016 ACC All-Freshman selection powered Carolina's offense on Sunday afternoon, leading the Tar Heels with 15 kills, hitting .429.
"I think she was very impressive," said Sagula. "She really became another weapon we needed at a point where we were relying on others. She can score. I'm amazed at how well she is playing with such limited practice time. Good for her and good for this team. We need that right now."
"I feel pretty good," said Borup. "It was really fun to be with the team and especially at home it was really nice—and to get a win felt even better. The team had great energy and they were really excited, so it was fun all around."
Senior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn had an efficient performance on offense, slamming 10 kills on 15 errorless swings to hit .667, while Taylor Leath put up 10 kills and matched her career high with three aces.
Holly Carlton and Kendra Koetter split setting duties, as Carlton totaled 25 assists and Koetter followed with 17. Libero Casey Jacobs led the back row with 19 digs, and Leath and Carlton both narrowly missed double-doubles with nine digs apiece.
North Carolina continued its dominance at the net on Sunday, totaling a season-high 15.0 blocks in the Tar Heels' 12th consecutive double-digit blocking match. Redshirt freshman Katharine Esterley posted her second double-digit performance in three matches going up on 10 blocks, while Carlton slammed a career-high seven and Leath and Taylor Fricano each had five.
"(Katharine's) strength is blocking," said Sagula. "I think today she struggled a little bit offensively. I think we need to let her focus on the fact she's very good laterally, blocks well and closes the block. Her and Fricano next to each other are a really good pair. That is significant. She came out strong in that fifth set like everyone. I'm proud of her coming back and playing so well in that fifth set. It was really good."
North Carolina opened the match with a 3-1 lead, but Wake Forest won five of the next six points to pull in front, 6-4. A triple block by Leath, Nordhorn and Carlton tied the score at 14, but a service ace by Madeline Holt pushed the Demon Deacons back in front, 18-15. A kill by Borup made it 17-19, but that would be UNC's final point as Wake Forest ran off six straight, taking advantage of three Carolina errors, to win the first set, 25-17.
Two block assists by Esterley put Carolina up 7-3 to start the second set. Wake Forest pulled back within one, 8-7, but another Esterley block, this one with Fricano, kept the Demon Deacons from tying the score. A triple block kicked off a late 6-0 run sparked by two Leath aces to make it 23-17, and an attack out of bounds secured the second set for Carolina, 25-17. Esterley stuffed six blocks in the second set, holding Wake Forest to a .023 clip, while Borup exploded for six kills on seven swings.
The third set was highly contested, featuring 15 ties and six lead changes. Three straight kills by Caitlyn Della put Wake Forest in front, 12-9, but an ace by Carlton tied the score at 13 and a Borup kill made it 15-14 Carolina heading in to the media timeout. UNC stretched the lead to 18-16 on a WF attack error, but just as quickly, two Carolina errors put Wake Forest back in front, 19-18. The Deacons followed with a service and an attack error to allow UNC back in front, and soon it was Carolina set point, 24-21. Della wiped off UNC's first two attempts with kills, but Leath ended the set with a monstrous swing for a 25-23 victory to take a 2-1 match lead.
Wake Forest dominated in the fourth set, racing out to a quick 6-2 lead then extending it 11-4. A solo block by Katie Moore made it 19-10 Demon Deacons, and a service ace by Caroline Kuhn finished off the fourth, 25-14, to force a fifth set. Wake Forest out-hit UNC .345 to .083 in the set, as the Tar Heels were limited to just seven kills in the frame.
North Carolina exploded out of the gate to take a quick 3-0 lead on an Esterley-Carlton block forcing an early Wake Forest timeout. Kuhn put WF on the board with a kill, then promptly served the ball out bounds. A block by Esterley and Fricano kept the momentum going Carolina's way, and an ace by Greer Moseman forced the Demon Deacons to call their second and final timeout, down 7-2. Two Leath kills and a triple block made it 11-4, and Nordhorn had the final swing of the match as UNC took the tiebreaker 15-5 to win the match, 3-2. Carolina was nearly flawless in the final set, hitting .700 with seven kills and no errors and siding out a perfect 6-for-6.
"We just knew it was do or die," said Nordhorn about the team's mentality heading into the fifth set. "We had to go out and play as hard as we can and just go get it."
North Carolina teamed up with Get REAL & HEEL on Sunday for the annual Breast Cancer Awareness match. The Tar Heels wore pink warmups, sold pink t-shirts and hosted a silent auction to benefit the local cancer-support organization.
"When I spoke to the team before the match, I told them there were two things on my mind today. I was thinking about how we are going to play after playing Duke and the fact that we are wearing pink and the bigger picture in life. The battles that we face on the court are so insignificant to the battles people are facing outside of this and the people who are fighting breast cancer every day and how important that is. Just to keep those people in your mind, and we fight to help represent that. Also, to help with Get REAL & HEEL and the work that they do is fantastic. We are here to play a game and give it our best effort. It really helps create enthusiasm for them and people enjoy that. What we do in sports, people can live through. This is a really important day, and we needed to recognize that."
North Carolina moves across campus next weekend, hosting Virginia Tech on Friday, Oct. 13, at the Dean E. Smith Center, the home of the 2017 NCAA Champion Carolina Men's Basketball Team. The volleyball match will begin at 5 p.m. as the opening event for the annual Late Night with Roy preseason basketball event. Admission to Friday's match, like all regular-season home matches, is free with open seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. The arena will not be cleared after the match, so volleyball fans may remain in their seats for the entire evening. Doors open at 4 p.m.
