University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Carolina Reaches 20 Wins With 3-1 Victory Over Pitt
October 27, 2013 | Volleyball
The Tar Heels defeated Pittsburgh 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 25-10) on Sunday in the two squads' first ACC matchup, improving to 20-1 (9-1) while securing the their third-straight 20-win season.
Jovana Bjelica had 16 kills and four blocks, and Victoria McPherson tied her season-high with 14 kills in addition to six blocks to lead Carolina over Pitt.
"We had a really great team effort today, and I was proud of how we got better as the match went along," head coach Joe Sagula said. "Pitt was a really good team, they serve tough, defend well, and Jessica Wynn really played a great match for them."
"The difference today was coming back after the second set, seeing how our team handled the split. We came back and competed hard and worked ourselves to be better in the final two sets. We had an attack mentality in the third and fourth sets, attacking with our serves, our blocks, our defense, and that was the difference. We need to continue having that aggressive mentality," Sagula said.
Lauren Adkins posted four kills, including back-to-back points to finish the frame, to help the Tar Heels claim set one, 25-21. Bjelica and McPherson each added three kills as Carolina hit .323 to open the match.
The Panthers led from the start of the second set, grabbing a 25-21 win behind six kills from Jessica Wynn. McPherson and Bjelica each tallied another five kills and a block for UNC, but seven errors and just a .162 attack cost the Tar Heels the set.
Carolina rallied back for a 25-17 set three victory, hitting a much-improved .467 as Bjelica and Paige Neuenfeldt contributed four kills and two blocks each. McPherson added three kills and three blocks and Carolina posted 5.5 team blocks in the frame.
The Tar Heels rolled into the final set with a 7-0 run to start the frame. Bjelica added a final four kills and a block, and McPherson had another three kills and three blocks for UNC. Carolina had a solid attack in the final set, finishing the frame with a .478 hitting percentage and rounding out the set with a .330 attack.
Up Next: Florida Swing
The Tar Heels head south next weekend to face No. 18 Florida State at 7 p.m. on Friday and Miami at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Friday's match vs. the Seminoles will be live on ESPN3.
