No. 10 North Carolina Takes Down Clemson to Keep Pristine ACC Record

Match Stats

• No. 10 North Carolina defeated Clemson 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-13, 27-25).
• North Carolina advances to 12-2 (4-0 ACC). Clemson is 5-11 (0-4 ACC).
• Clemson, South Carolina

The No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels (12-2, 4-0 ACC) defeated the Clemson Tigers (5-11, 0-4 ACC) in four sets on Sunday to keep their ACC record spotless.

UNC cruised to victory in the first set, but Clemson answered by taking the second. After a quick third set, UNC had a 24-20 advantage in the fourth, but Clemson rallied to nearly take the match before UNC sealed it with a kill from Kayley McCorkle and an attack error by Clemson’s Kailey Harvell.

UNC had 51 kills on 107 attempts for a .355 hitting percentage. Clemson had 50 kills on 129 attempts for a .186 average.

Julia Scoles led UNC with 16 kills for a .481 average, adding three aces. Sheila Doyle notched 15 digs, and Abigail Curry had 23 assists.

On Clemson’s side of the net, Megan McGinley led with 13 kills and four blocks (two solo). Leah Perri and Harvell both finished with double-doubles — Perri had 12 kills and 13 digs, while Harvell added 12 kills and 12 digs.

No. 10 UNC will match up with No. 15 Florida State on Friday at home. Clemson will face Georgia Tech at home on Wednesday.

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Press Releases

Courtesy of North Carolina Athletics:

CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 10 North Carolina volleyball concluded its extended road trip with a victory on Sunday afternoon, defeating Clemson, 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-13, 27-25). The Tar Heels used efficient offense and effective serving to pick up the win, improving to 12-2 (4-0 ACC) while Clemson dropped to 5-11 (0-4 ACC).

Freshman Julia Scoles led the match with 16 kills, hitting an impressive .481 with three service aces. Taylor Leath followed with 10 kills, while Taylor Fricano hit .667 with seven kills on nine swings and Hayley McCorkle added six kills, hitting .308. As a team, Carolina hit .355 in the match, second only to UNC’s .380 clip in the home opener against TCU.

Setter Abigail Curry neared a double-double with 23 assists, nine digs and two aces, and Mariah Evans dished out 19 assists with six digs and an ace.

Libero Sheila Doyle led both teams with 15 digs in the match, as the Carolina defense held Clemson to a .186 hitting percentage despite a season-low 4.5 blocks.

Carolina raced ahead 9-1 to open the match then continued to cruise, taking the first set, 25-13. The Tigers did not score on a serve until the final two rotations of the opening frame, as the Tar Heels out-hit Clemson, .417-.000, led by Fricano who was a perfect 4-for-4.

A pair of early service aces allowed Clemson to take a quick 3-1 lead to begin the second, but Carolina fought back to pull ahead 9-7. The Tigers replied to tie the score at 10, but a kill and a block by Leath put UNC back in front, 16-13. Back-to-back kills by Kailey Harvell sparked a Clemson run to give the Tigers back the lead, 17-16, and this time they kept it, as Leah Perri’s fifth kill of the set won it for CU, 25-22.

The Tar Heels righted the ship in the third set, using a four-point run midway through to pull ahead 14-9. Carolina kept its foot on the gas, finishing the frame on an 11-4 run with three straight kills by McCorkle, Leath and Scoles to win it, 25-13.

Carolina pushed in front 18-15 midway through the fourth set and extended the advantage to 21-16 after a pair of Tiger attack errors. A kill by Sydnye Fields set up Tar Heel match point, 24-20, but Clemson used two blocks and an ace to tie the score at 24 and wipe the slate clean. A Leath kill gave UNC another match point, but Kailey Harvell landed a kill to tie the score once again. McCorkle gave UNC a sixth chance to win it with a kill and a fantastic serve by Doyle finished off the Tigers as the Tar Heels won the fourth, 27-25, and closed out the match in four sets.

After nearly a month on the road, No. 10 North Carolina finally returns home on Friday, Oct. 7, for a marquee matchup with No. 15 Florida State at Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels’ ACC home opener will air live on ACC Network Extra with opening serve set for 7 p.m.

Courtesy of Clemson Athletics:

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson (5-11, 0-3) fought back from a five-point deficit late in the fourth to threaten No. 10 North Carolina (12-2, 4-0 ACC) with a possible fifth set, however the Tar Heels managed to hold on and defeat the Tigers in four sets (13-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-27). Clemson’s new 6-2 offense was firing on all cylinders in the second and fourth set as the Tigers hit .306 and .314 respectively.

“I really liked the way we competed today,” said head coach Hugh Hernesman. “We competed at a level I’ve known we have in us, we just needed to rediscover it.”

“Offensively, we talk a lot about needed three people to kill the ball on a consistent basis. We had that today with Leah (Perri), Kailey (Harvell) and Megan (McGinley), then we also got an inspired and efficient effort out of Tori (Woogk). With that said it took a good effort out of Taylor (Daniel) and Keely (Hayes) to distribute the ball around.”

Despite UNC’s efforts early to limit Perri’s offensive success, Daniel and Hayes were able to set McGinley, Harvell and Woogk to efficient afternoon’s, ultimately opening the door for Perri to find success of her own.

Daniel and McGinley were clicking throughout the contest as the sophomore setter found McGinley for a team-best, 13 kills on 20 swings with just one error. The middle blocker out of Chagrin Falls, Ohio hit .600 while blocking opposing hitters four times. Freshman middle blocker, Jaden Light matched McGinley with four blocks while Woogk finished with four blocks as well to go along with her seven kills on 20 swings. The Tigers out-blocked North Carolina 8-4.5 in the match.

Perri and Harvell were nothing short of impressive in their efforts in which they both finished with double-doubles. The duo combined for 24 kills with Harvell hitting .280 on the outside with 12 kills and just five errors on 25 swings. Harvell’s dig total matched her kill total while Perri was Clemson’s leader in digs with 13. Perri was also one-of-four Tigers to ace the Tar Heels as Perri, Emily Curtis and Annie Carter each finished with two to their credit and Daniel came up with a clutch ace in the fourth to tie the set at 25. Daniel finished the match with 26 assists while Hayes recorded 18 on the day.

Now the Tigers have little time to prepare as Clemson is back in action on Wednesday, at 7:00 p.m., in Jervey Gym. Georgia Tech will make the trek to Clemson for a mid-week rivalry matchup with the Tigers. The last time these two teams met, the Tigers prevailed in four sets in Atlanta, Georgia to earn Hugh Hernesman’s first ACC victory and their first victory at Georgia Tech since 2011.