Carolina Rallies Back, Outlasts Florida State, 3-2

Sunday, November 17

Tallahassee, Fla.

1 PM

North Carolina

14-11, 11-4ACC

Florida State

17-8, 10-5ACC

North Carolina

Florida State

November 17, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Down by eight to begin the fifth set, North Carolina ended the match on a 9-1 run to rallied back for the five-set win over Florida State on Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida.

Carolina jumped to a 2-0 lead to begin the match highlighted by eight error-less kills by Carly Peck. However, Florida State responded to win sets three and four, tying the match, 2-all. Despite the Seminoles' 9-1 lead in the fifth set, strong serving by Annabelle Archer and a trio of kills by Peck gave UNC the 13-12 edge. A kill by Skylar Wine set up match point as an FSU error clinched the win. With the victory, the Tar Heels improve to 11-4 in the ACC, 14-11 overall. Florida State dropped to 10-5, 17-8 on the season.

"I'm just so amazed and impressed with this team today," head coach Joe Sagula said. "The fact that we came back and played inspired. … This was a really great team win because different people stepped up to help us win at different times. The kind of effort we made, the great defensive plays at the end, the great offensive swings, the big blocks, the clutch serving, everything came together for us to pull this out. It's a testament to everyone's hard work, staying the course and being great teammates."

Lauren Harrison led the Tar Heels' offense with 18 kills while Peck set a career-high with 14. Parker Austin picked up her sixth double-double, featuring 10 kills and 10 digs. Karenna Wurl and Mia Fradenburg steadied UNC's back row with 17 and 15 digs, respectively. Fradenburg paced UNC's serving with a career-best four aces while Greer Moseman picked up two to help clinch the second set. The Seminoles out-blocked UNC, 14.0 to 13.5 despite Aristea Tontai's eight.

Florida State balanced its offense between Jasmyn Martin, Morgan Chacon, Payton Caffrey and Taryn Knuth who each recorded double-digit kills. Martin led the Noles with 18 kills and a .484 attack percentage while Knuth hit .632 with 12 kills. Both Chacon and Caffrey had double-doubles in kills and digs. Despite out-hitting UNC, .322 to .234, Florida State was unable to complete the comeback.

How It Happened
Carolina earned the first four points of the match on a kill by Austin, back-to-back Fradenburg aces and a triple block by Austin, Tontai and Destiny Cox. Peck reclaimed the for the Tar Heels with her third kill of the frame and Cox extended UNC's edge to 15-12 with a kill to the back pin before the media timeout. FSU called its second timeout after back-to-back kills from Peck to make it five in the set. Hunter Atherton dumped the ball for UNC's set point. The Seminoles fought through one set point on a kill by Caffrey, but Skyy Howard clinched the 25-23 win to begin the match.

Florida State took its first lead of the match early in the second set on a kill by Chacon. However, another Peck kill followed by a Seminoles' error gave Carolina the lead. Wine made an immediate impact off the bench, posting UNC's fourth block with Howard for an 11-9 edge. Florida State pulled away with a slight lead following the media timeout. However, Carolina successfully challenged a net violation to keep the score within two. Austin and Tontai tied up the set at 19-all with UNC's fifth block. Another ace by Fradenburg and two from Moseman propelled the Tar Heels to a 25-21 win, ending the set on an 8-2 run.

The Seminoles jumped on the board first in the third set and never looked back. Fradenburg's fourth ace reset her single-match career-high and kept Carolina within one early on. However a pair of three-point runs gave FSU the edge. UNC answered back with a 4-0 run, but the Noles responded with a 6-0 run with Caffrey at the line to serve. The Tar Heels battled through three set points with a pair of kills by Harrison and one by Howard before FSU took the frame, 25-17.

Harrison put Carolina ahead early with back-to-back kills to begin the fourth set. Neither team took more than a two-point lead until Austin's ninth kill made it 14-11, Heels. However, the Noles knotted the set at 14-all before a service error earned UNC the lead at the media timeout. Howard slugged her sixth kill after an FSU timeout for the 20-19 edge. A block by Cox and Harrison made it 22-21 before a kill knotted the set again. However, the Noles evened up the match 2-2 with a 25-23 win.

Florida State's momentum continued, jumping to an 8-1 lead as the teams switched benches. Howard posted her eighth kill to break up the run. However the Tar Heels would not quit, posting three blocks and an Archer ace to bring it within one, before back-to-back kills by Peck gave UNC the 13-12 lead. Wine's seventh kill gave the Tar Heels match point while an FSU error secured the win, 15-13.

Carolina Stat Leaders
» Kills: Lauren Harrison (18)
» Hitting percentage: Skyy Howard (.429, 9 kills); Carly Peck (.414, 10 kills)
» Assists: Annabelle Archer (28)
» Digs: Karenna Wurl (17)
» Total Blocks: Aristea Tontai (8)
» Aces: Mia Fradenburg (4)

Noteworthy
» Mia Fradenburg's four aces is a single-match career high. Her previous best was three vs. Duke on Nov. 2, 2018.
» Carly Peck's reset her career-high to 14 kills from 10 vs. Colgate on Sept. 21.
» With the five-set win at home, North Carolina defeated Florida State twice in the same season for the first time since 2016.

Up Next
The Tar Heels return home to host Duke Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

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