University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Notre Dame
Nelson, Neuenfeldt Lead UNC Volleyball Past Irish
November 22, 2014 | Volleyball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 7 UNC volleyball team battled past a feisty Notre Dame squad on the road to take a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-16) victory Friday night in Purcell Pavilion.
Chaniel Nelson led Carolina with 10 kills, two blocks and one dig on a .471 hitting percentage. Paige Neuenfeldt was equally potent out of the middle, knocking down eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage with three blocks.
"Any win this time of year is a good win. For us, it was important to go on the road and continue to play with confidence and aggression," said Head Coach Joe Sagula.
"I thought we attacked the ball well in this match. Chaniel had a great match, she posted great numbers and got some big kills for us. Ece, as well, had a great match defensively and really controlled the court."
Carolina outdug the Irish 44 digs to 35 digs, and outblocked them 8.0 blocks to 2.0 blocks. Ece Taner led the defense with 18 digs, while Leigh Andrew posted 14 digs, four kills and one service ace.
North Carolina was able to use its strong backrow play to hold Notre Dame to a .093 hitting percentage, the fifth time this season the Tar Heels have held their opponent under a .100 attack percentage for the match.
Carolina used that strong defensive performance in set one to overcome five service errors in the first frame.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 9-6 lead after back-to-back kills from Neuenfeldt, but the Irish would quickly cut the lead to 10-9. UNC regained momentum towards the middle of the set and pushed the advantage to 19-15 before a Notre Dame rally tied the match at 20-20.
Carolina and Notre Dame traded points and found the score tied at 23-23 after UND's Jeni Houser pounded her fifth kill of the frame. However, Nelson ripped a kill and then Neuenfeldt forced a setting error at the net to end set one 25-23 for UNC.
Nelson continued her momentum into the second frame, where she knocked down six kills on a .857 hitting percentage and added two blocks. Her fifth kill of the frame gave the Tar Heels an 11-8 lead in the game, their largest at that point.
Notre Dame would stay close, as Houser ripped another kill to cut the lead to two. A four-point run on the serve of Abigail Curry, that featured two kills from Neuenfeldt and an ace from Curry, would blow open the second game and result in a 19-13 UNC lead.
A block from Leigh Andrew and Victoria McPherson would push the lead to 23-16 and let the Tar Heels cruise to a 25-20 win on a kill by Nelson.
The strong set two finish re-energized the Tar Heels, as UNC started the game three with an ace from Jordyn Schnabl on the way to a quick 6-2 lead. Paige Neuenfeldt pounded a kill to push the advantage to 9-5, and then Taylor Treacy pushed the lead to 13-8 with a kill.
Curry continued her strong performance from the service line with another ace to make the lead 18-13. Notre Dame seemed poised to threaten, as the Fighting Irish cut the lead to 19-15, but UND committed six errors in the last seven points to finish the game and let Carolina secure the match with a 25-16 win in set three.
Taylor Treacy turned in a solid performance on the night, knocking down four kills on five swings with one block. Lauren McAdoo and Victoria McPherson both had five kills, while McPherson added four blocks and McAdoo added four digs.
Jordyn Schnabl chipped in 21 assists and one service ace, while her counterpart Abigail Curry added 12 assists and two service aces.
North Carolina (23-2, 14-1 ACC) will face Louisville this Sunday at 12 p.m. in Cardinal Arena. The match-up is the first time the two teams have faced each other since 2000 and will be streamed live on ESPN3.
