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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
12-8, 9-2ACC
Louisville
16-5, 10-1ACC
Tar Heels Knock Off First Place No. 23 Louisville
October 31, 2015 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – Carolina volleyball pulled off a key conference victory on Friday night, defeating No. 23 Louisville, 3-1 (18-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-22), to hand the Cardinals their first loss of ACC play. The win snaps Louisville's 10-match winning streak, as UL falls to 16-5 (10-1 ACC), while UNC improves to 12-8 (9-2 ACC).
“This is a really big win for us,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Louisville is a really good team. They're scrappy, they play hard every point. They have great offensive weapons in [Erin] Fairs and [Aniah] Philo and [Janelle] Jenkins; you don't know what's going to happen, and they have such good ball control. The leadership of [setter] Katie George is amazing. So for us to play this way with a new lineup, I was really proud of the team.”
“We were playing through a lot of adversity without our normal two-setter rotation, so we knew coming in that we were kind of the underdog in our own gym,” said senior Paige Neuenfeldt. “But we were able to out-serve and out-pass them and it ended up working out in our favor. It was a great team win.”
For just the second time in her career, Abigail Curry led the Tar Heel offense for all six rotations, putting together a career performance with 38 assists, 16 digs, three kills and two blocks, all personal highs. Curry set to three hitters in double digits, led by Leigh Andrew with 12 kills, Taylor Leath had 11, and Paige Neuenfeldt struck 10.
“Hats off to Taylor Leath,” said Sagula. “She just keeps getting better and better. We're such a different kind of team now winning with our left-side pins. Paige had a good night, Victoria [McPherson] statistically was awesome just when we needed it. And without question, Taylor Leath is just getting better and better and really getting some big swings for us and confidence.
“And I have to give credit to Abbey Curry. Setting six rotations is something she hasn't done in a long time. I said to her, 'If you can get two blocks in this match, we'd be happy.' And she got two blocks. And she had kills, too.”
Curry was one of four Tar Heels with double-digit digs, as Andrew registered her first double-double of ACC play with 14 digs, Sheila Doyle posted 13, and Tatiana Durr put up 11.
At the net, Carolina out-blocked Louisville 11-5, led by five each from Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson along with a season-high four from Andrew. Neuenfeldt's first block of the night was career #500, as the Senior CLASS Award Finalist became just the third Tar Heel in program history and first since 1999 to reach the 500-block plateau.
“We've been trying different things with all of these different rotations, and I think our team really executed tonight,” said Leath. “I think that's the biggest word for the night. We executed when we were supposed to, and every rotation earned points. We knew that they would bring a lot of energy and go after a lot of balls so we made sure that whatever we thought was enough, we had to be more than that.”
The first set was tight early. A block by Curry and McPherson gave the Tar Heels a 7-6 lead, but the Cardinals soon ran ahead, 14-11. A late run with the help of two kills each by Maggie DeJong and Erin Fairs made it 22-15 Louisville, and the Cardinals finished out the first, 25-18.
The Tar Heels won the first four points of the second set, then used an 11-0 run served out by Doyle to race ahead 21-7 and even the match with a 25-11 slant. Carolina out-hit UL .375 to -.069 in the set after the Cardinals hit .326 in the first.
“Playing like that in the second set was such a big win for us and it enhanced our confidence,” said Sagula.
The Cardinals pulled ahead, 4-1, to start the third, but a kill and two blocks by Neuenfeldt put UNC on top 5-4. The Tar Heels pushed further in front, 11-8, on another kill by the senior middle, then extended the lead to 21-14 on a two straight kills by McPherson. A Neuenfeldt-Leath block made it Tar Heel set point, 24-18, but the Cardinals did not back down, erasing four Carolina tries to pull within two, 24-22. A timeout helped the Heels clear their heads, and Taylor Treacy terminated from the right to close the stanza, 25-22, and give Carolina a 2-1 match lead.
A block by Andrew and McPherson led Carolina to an early 8-3 lead in the fourth, but Louisville quickly forced its way back within two, 9-7. A string of service kept the Cardinals from tying the score, and a kill by Curry had the Tar Heels up 20-17. Louisville did not back down, winning four of the next five points to tie the set at 21. After a Tar Heel timeout, Treacy and McPherson came out firing, and a pair of UL errors finished out the night, as UNC took the fourth, 25-22, and captured its third ranked victory of the season, 3-1.
“They just found a great way to win, and I think that's important to us,” said Sagula. “It gives us some life and a lot of confidence going forward to the second half of the ACC season.”
The ACC slate continues on Sunday afternoon, when Carolina hosts Notre Dame. The Tar Heels will face off with the Fighting Irish at 1 p.m. on the first of November.
