University of North Carolina Athletics
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Florida State
#20 Florida State Edges #12 North Carolina, 3-2
November 2, 2013 | Volleyball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - No. 20 Florida State edged the No. 12 Tar Heels 3-2 (27-25, 21-25, 16-25, 25-17, 8-15) Friday night as the Seminoles won their 22nd-straight home ACC match and set a school record with 28 blocks.
The Tar Heels, now 20-2 overall and 9-2 in ACC play, put up some big numbers themselves, as three Carolina players registered double-doubles and Leigh Andrew and Paige Neuenfeldt each posted season-high kills.
Andrew (15 kills and 12 digs) and Jordyn Schnabl (35 assists and 10 digs) each tallied their fourth double-double of the season, while Jovana Bjelica added her first of the season with 14 kills and 12 digs, in addition to six blocks.
"It was disappointing - I thought we had some good opportunities tonight, but Florida State was a great team," head coach Joe Sagula said. "We had a chance going into the fifth set, but we didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had at the end. It's a little disheartening. Every time we play a match at this time of the year, win or lose, we learn something, and we definitely have a lot to learn from tonight."
"Tonight, Florida State played great, and they out-blocked us and out-hit us. We have to be more consistent if we're going to make a run to finish up conference play. We have another opportunity on Sunday, and we have to put today behind us and get ready to play Miami," Sagula said.
Trailing for much of set one, the Tar Heels tied it at 17-17 and then took the lead on an ace by Taner. After multiple set-points for both teams, Carolina took the frame in extra points, 27-25, as Neuenfeldt put down six kills and Bjelica added five kills with a block.
Set two went to the Seminoles, 25-21, as Carolina hit just .024 with 11 errors. Neuenfeldt added another five kills with a block, and Andrew had three kills with a block, but FSU's seven blocks and four kills from Nicole Walch were enough to stop the Tar Heels.
UNC grabbed the first point in set three, but after FSU took a 9-0 run to make it 12-4, the Seminoles never looked back, leading by as many as 13 points in the frame. FSU had eight blocks, holding Carolina to a -.027 attack and forcing 11 attack errors. Hayley McCorkle had three kills for UNC, McPherson posted a kill with two blocks, and Bjelica added two kills with a block.
The Tar Heels bounced back to take set four 25-17, as Bjelica grabbed four kills and three blocks, and Andrew had three kills. Nicole Walch had six kills and three blocks for FSU, but the Seminoles had their lowest attack of .000 while Carolina posted 4.5 team blocks to force the fifth set.
FSU claimed the match with a 15-8 set five win, putting up a final four blocks and holding UNC to a .091 attack. Andrew added four kills, but Carolina had six more errors to close the match.
Up Next: On to Miami
The Tar Heels finish out their Florida swing with a match at Miami on Sunday at 1 p.m. Watch the match online here and follow live stats here.
