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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
24-3, 16-1ACC
NC State
17-12, 10-7ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC State | 16 | 11 | 20 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Tar Heels Cruise To Sweep Of Wolfpack
November 17, 2016 | Volleyball
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| Postgame Infographic |
CHAPEL HILL – No. 6 North Carolina claimed its 13th sweep of the season on Wednesday night, taking down crosstown foe NC State, 25-16, 25-11, 25-20. The Tar Heels, who lead the ACC in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage, hit above .300 as a team for the third straight match, out-hitting NC State, .386 to .095. With the win, Carolina improves to 24-3 (16-1 ACC), while NC State falls to 17-12 (10-7 ACC).
“It was a really great match for us tonight,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “Our goal for tonight was to come out and work hard, and I felt we did it from the first point. The effort we made in some scramble plays in the first set was great and carried over into the second set. We just felt like playing at home, we need to set the standard of how well we're going to play and build upon this for the rest of the season. This was an important one to reinvest in ourselves, recommit to getting to another level, and I thought the team did that well tonight.”
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath led the match with 15 kills on the night, attacking at an impressive .452 clip with just a single hitting error.
“I thought she went really hard in the first set, and then she got really feisty in the second set as everybody saw,” said Sagula. “I like the competitive spirit, and I thought she was great. I think the team woke up from that, and although they made a run there, it set the tone that we're going to be aggressive and go after it. When she's going hard, she makes everyone else want to play well.”
Julia Scoles was next with nine kills, hitting .365, while Taylor Fricano hit .571 with five kills. Beth Nordhorn, Hayley McCorkle and Taylor Treacy each had four kills, and no Tar Heel committed more than one attack error for a total of just seven offensive miscues on 95 swings.
Carolina put up a big block, totaling 13.0 stuffs over just three sets, led by Nordhorn who tied her career high with seven. Treacy and Fricano each had five blocks, and Leath stuffed four, including one solo.
“Not one hitter had more than one error, and we had a balanced attack,” said Sagula. “With 13 blocks, we did a good job stopping their key people. Overall, we did a good job serving and trying to keep them out of system.”
Abigail Curry and Mariah Evans split the assists on the night, as Curry totaled 19 and Evans followed closely with 17. Libero Sheila Doyle posted 19 digs in the match, while Scoles put up eight and Leath tallied six.
“I'm just really proud of how well we played against a really good team who has been playing well,” said Sagula. “That was our challenge for our team. We knew NC State was playing really well, and we needed to play really well against a team that was at the top of their game. A lot of respect for what they've done. They've been really energized and they've been playing great volleyball. They just seemed to be at a good point, so I'm proud of how our team took on that challenge.”
Kills by McCorkle and Scoles gave the Tar Heels a quick 3-0 lead to start the match and back-to-back blocks by Nordhorn made it 8-2. Carolina continued to dominate, taking the opener, 25-16. UNC hit .500 in the first set and did not make a single unforced hitting error, as Leath (6-for-7), Scoles (5-for-8) and McCorkle (4-for-7) all hit above .500.
Carolina once again raced out in front 8-2 in the second set, but the Wolfpack stormed back to tie the score at nine on a great service run by Julia Brown. An attack error gave Evans a chance to serve, and the freshman setter served the Tar Heels on an eight-point run with the help of three blocks to make it 17-9 Carolina. UNC continued to press, as three straight kills closed out the frame, 25-11, and gave the Heels a 2-0 match lead.
The third set began much closer, but back-to-back blocks by Nordhorn and Treacy put Carolina ahead 8-4, and a Nordhorn kill midway through extended the advantage to 16-10. A monster swing by Scoles set up match point, and Leath put it away with kill number 15 to finished off the sweep, 25-20.
Carolina's homestand continues on Friday night with a visit from Virginia on Nov. 18. Opening serve is set for 6 p.m.
