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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NC State
Carolina Drops Wolfpack
November 23, 2011 | Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2011
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RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina capped its regular season with a victory at rival NC State, 3-1 (25-18, 10-25, 25-19, 25-23) Wednesday afternoon from Reynolds Coliseum. Chaniel Nelson led the Tar Heels with 15 kills and Kaylie Gibson paced the defense with 23 digs.
"I was just so proud of how we fought today on the road against a team playing very well right now, " said head coach Joe Sagula. "I feel like our team played at a very high level today, which we needed to do in order to come out on top.
"Individually, I felt like Kaylie's performance - her comeback - was incredible. She really stepped up because they kept coming after her and she responded like a champion. And I am just so proud of all the girls that we could send the seniors out with a win in their final regular season match. We will enjoy this for a couple days and wait on word for an NCAA Tournament bid."
NC State grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the opening set, but the Tar Heels answered with a 13-4 run to go up by six (13-7) following a Wolfpack ball-handling error. Carolina continued to roll, leading by as many as seven (24-17) after a service ace by Ece Taner. UNC won set point (25-17) on a kill by Erica Behm, assisted by Taner. The Tar Heels posted a .355 attack efficiency as Chaniel Nelson led the way with six kills on eight swings with no errors.
It was all Wolfpack in the second set, as they raced out to a 10-2 lead, forcing the Tar Heels to call timeout. NC State continued to pull away, leading by as many as 15 (20-5) before rolling to a 25-10 set-two win, capturing set point on a block by Margaret Salata.
The third frame was back-and-forth in the early going, featuring five tie scores and two lead changes before the Tar Heels began to pull away, going by four (12-8) on a service ace by Emily McGee. Carolina later went up by seven (18-11) after a Wolfpack attack error, forcing NC State to call timeout. NCSU rallied out of the timeout to pare the UNC advantage to one (18-17) following a Tar Heel attack error. Carolina finished off set three by winning seven of the final nine points, taking set point on a McGee kill, assisted by Behm.
Carolina fell behind by six (7-1) early in the fourth before battling back to even the score (11-11) on a McGee kill, assisted by Harms. The Wolfpack pulled back ahead by three at 15-12 on a kill by Nicole Glass, but UNC again came back to knot the score (15-15) following a Berringer kill. The Tar Heels again fell behind (20-17), but responded with an 8-3 run, capped by a McGee kill for set and match point (25-23).
Carolina will now await word on a potential NCAA Tournament bid. The NCAA Selection Show will air Sunday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
