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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
20-9 17-3ACC
Duke
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 25 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 1 |
| Duke | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
No. 22 Tar Heels Drop Regular-Season Finale At Duke
November 28, 2015 | Volleyball
Durham, N.C. – The North Carolina volleyball team suffered a disappointing setback on Saturday, dropping their first match since Oct. 16 with a 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16) loss at rival Duke in the final match of the 2015 regular season. The Tar Heels had a chance at a share of the program's 13th ACC title, but came up short, ending their late season winning streak at 12 straight. Carolina claimed its sixth consecutive top-three finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference, tying Florida State for second place at 17-3 on the year, while posting a 20-9 overall record. With the win on Senior Day, Duke (17-13) placed seventh in the ACC with a 12-8 conference record.
In a gritty, defensive match, libero Sheila Doyle posted her eighth 20-dig performance of the year, leading the match with 25 from the back row. Senior Heather Gearhart matched her career high with 14 digs, and Leigh Andrew totaled 13.
Senior Paige Neuenfeldt was the strongest Tar Heel hitter, registering 12 kills on the match, but after opening with five kills on seven errorless swings in the first set, she finished the afternoon with just a .226 hitting percentage. Neuenfeldt's modest attack clip was the highest of any Tar Heel attacker, as UNC hit just .106 in the match, Carolina's lowest since opening weekend against No. 11 BYU.
Carolina's usually dominant blocking unit was absent on Saturday, as the Tar Heels did not record a block until midway through the third set, finishing with just 5.5 over the four sets. Neuenfeldt assisted on four of them, and is now just five total blocks away from the all-time career record.
Senior outside hitter Emily Sklar paced the Blue Devils with a match-high 17 kills to go with 17 digs, and libero Sasha Karelov put up 22 digs to lead five Blue Devils in double digits. Duke posted an impressive 90 total digs in the four-setter, the most for any Tar Heel opponent this season.
Duke controlled the pace of the first set early, maintaining a small lead for the majority of the set. The Tar Heels tied the score at 10 and again at 14, but did not take their first lead until an error by Jordan Tucker made it 18-17. Duke regained the lead after a quick timeout, but Carolina used a 6-0 run down the stretch served out by Gearhart to reach set point, and a kill by Victoria McPherson closed the first set in UNC's favor, 25-20.
The Blue Devils opened the second set ahead 9-4 and held off the Tar Heels for the remainder of the frame to even the match at one set apiece. A kill out of the back row by Tatiana Durr pulled Carolina within three, 10-7, but that was the closest the Tar Heels would get as Duke ran away with the stanza, 25-15.
A 9-1 run early in the third spotted Duke a 14-5 lead, and that was enough for the Blue Devils to take a 2-1 match lead. The Tar Heels finally got their first block of the match to make it 15-7, and Neuenfeldt totaled three in the set to inch closer to the all-time blocking record, but after UNC fought off three set points, Duke won the third, 25-19, and took control of the match.
The fourth set was nearly identical to the third, as a 9-0 run served out by setter Maggie Deichmeister gave Duke a daunting 15-6 lead, and Carolina could not dig itself out of the hole, dropping the fourth set, 25-16.
The Tar Heels now await their postseason fate, as No. 22 North Carolina is expected to receive an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The opening round pairings will be announced on the NCAA Selection Show which will air live on ESPNU at 9 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29. First and Second Round action will take place on the campuses of the top 16 seeds on Dec. 4-5.
