North Carolina
14-12, 11-7
Louisville
22-6, 16-2
Comeback Falls Just Short in Thriller in Louisville
November 19, 2017 | Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – North Carolina erased an 0-2 deficit to force a deciding fifth set at Louisville on Sunday afternoon, but the Cardinals held on to win, 15-11, in the fifth to take the match, 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 21-25, 15-11). It was the second time this season that the Tar Heels returned from trailing two sets to none against the Cardinals, after completing the comeback to defeat Louisville in five in their ACC home opener on Sept. 24. With the win, Louisville remains in a tie for first place in the ACC at 22-6 (16-2 ACC), while UNC falls to 14-12 (11-7 ACC).
Redshirt freshman Holly Carlton was all over the court, posting her third triple-double of the season with 21 assists, 12 digs and 10 kills to go with two blocks and a service ace. The Sterling, Virginia, native is one of seven players in the nation to record three or more triple-doubles this season and the only student-athlete from a Power 5 conference to do so. Carlton, who recorded the first triple-double since 2005 against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 16, is the third Tar Heel under head coach Joe Sagula to record more-than-one career triple-double and the first since 1992.
Junior Taylor Leath registered her 17th career double-double and her sixth this season with 14 kills and 15 digs. Seniors Taylor Fricano and Beth Nordhorn were also influential on both offense and defense, as Nordhorn matched a career-high eight blocks with eight kills while Fricano tallied nine kills and six blocks. Additionally, Katharine Esterley stuffed five block assists as Carolina neared its season high with 14.0 stuffs as a team.
Setter Kendra Koetter tallied 18 assists and six digs, while libero Casey Jacobs led the Tar Heels with 16 digs and recorded her third career kill. Freshman Maddie Grace Hough tallied eight digs and was one of four Tar Heels to record an ace.
The match opened with an exciting, back-and-forth first set, featuring eight ties and six lead changes. Louisville pulled in front 10-7, but Carolina cut back within one, 11-10. A three-point run allowed UNC to take the lead, 17-16, but Louisville followed by winning five out of six to take over, 21-18. A kill from libero Casey Jacobs made it 21-20, but three straight kills by Louisville's Melanie McHenry set up set point and McHenry teamed up with Maggie DeJong for a block to take the first set, 25-21.
Louisville began the second with a 4-0 lead, and that would prove all the advantage it would need, soon stretching it to 9-2. Three straight late cut the deficit to six, 20-14, but that was as close as the Tar Heels would come, as the Cardinals claimed the second set, 25-17. Louisville out-hit Carolina .375 to .061 in the frame with four blocks.
A 7-1 run midway through the third set gave Louisville a 16-10 lead, and a kill by Amanda Green seemingly put the match away, making it 20-13. However, three-straight blocks by Nordhorn, two with Fricano, cut the deficit to two, 20-18. McHenry struck a kill, but the Tar Heels followed by winning another six straight with two more Nordhorn-Fricano blocks, and back-to-back Leath kills made it Tar Heel set point, 24-21. The Cardinals wiped off the first two attempts, but another Leath kill finished off the third, 25-23, as Carolina survived to play another set. UNC won 12 of the final 15 points in the set, using seven blocks to hold Louisville to .049 hitting.
The fourth set was the closest yet, with 11 ties and six lead changes. Neither team made much of a run nor led by more than three until a five-point run down the stretch by the Tar Heels made it set point, 24-20. Once again, it was Leath who took the final swing, forcing a fifth set with a 25-21 victory.
Carolina rode its momentum into the fifth set, pulling ahead 5-1 early on three kills by Leath. However, a four-point Louisville run gave the Cardinals a 7-6 advantage. UNC went back ahead, 8-7, when the teams traded sides, but it was all Louisville down the stretch. After a pair of Cardinal errors knotted the score at 11, Louisville ran off four straight, as McHenry's 30th kill of the match finished things off, 15-11, in the Cardinals' favor.
North Carolina enters the final week of play, remaining on the road for a visit to Wake Forest on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. The Tar Heels conclude the regular season on Friday, Nov. 24, at rival Duke.
