Match Stats
- #12 North Carolina def. #10 Florida State 3-2 (13-25, 21-25, 25-11, 25-22, 15-13)
- North Carolina moves to 21-3 (13-1 ACC); Florida State falls to 18-5 (11-3 ACC)
- Tuly Gymnasium, Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State hosted)
The North Carolina Tar Heels came out flat-footed against Florida State, getting dominated in the first two sets, but they fought back to win the last 3 and stake a flag at the top of the ACC Conference.
With deference to Duke, who has impressed this year to a 12-2 ACC record, Sunday’s battle was a matchup of the two best in the ACC, and with the win, the Tar Heels now sit at the top of the conference with just 6 games to go.
“This was momentous for our program, with us being able to get two come-from-behind victories this weekend,” said UNC head coach Joe Sagula. “This is one of the most memorable matches I’ve been involved in with Carolina Volleyball. To be down two sets to none and get off to such a bad start and then to turn it around so quickly and show what we’re capable of doing.
“I thought we played hard the whole match and we never gave up, and that effort really paid off in the fourth and fifth sets. Just the belief they had in each other, to be down 13-10 in the fifth set, 21-18 in the fourth, we could have easily folded but we seemed to get better. We made great plays when the pressure was on.”
North Carolina hadn’t beaten Florida State on the road since 2008, and hadn’t swept the season series since the year 2000.
The Tar Heels turned to redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath when things went sour, and she responded as she has in the biggest spots all season – with flying colors. She had 26 kills and hit a team-high .360 on the day. She’s averaging over 22 kills-per-game in the Tar Heels’ matchups against top 10 teams, and is also a perfect 3-for-3 on double doubles in those games (which she did again on Sunday with 13 digs). The 26 kills are the most by any Tar Heel since 2005.
“All the pins did a great job for us,” said Sagula. “What a fantastic effort from Leath. She was outstanding. Borup’s contributions over the final three sets were significant. Scoles really improved her play from Friday. We had 30 attempts again from the middle, creating more balance. We didn’t pass well early and our pins took big swings and that kept us in the match.”
Florida State played huge early, hitting .500 and .317 in the first two sets, respectively. In the third, however, it was all Tar Heels, as they pushed Florida State into more errors than kills and found their rhythm offensively, hitting an efficient .382 with 17 kills.
The biggest speed-bump left for UNC on the road to an ACC title is the aforementioned Duke Blue Devils on November 23rd in Chapel Hill. Duke will have a chance to prove their worth both in that game and one remaining against Florida State – neither of whom they’ve played yet this year.
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Courtesy North Carolina Athletics:
Tallahassee, Fla. – No. 12 North Carolina stormed back from an 0-2 deficit on Sunday afternoon to defeat No. 10 Florida State, 3-2 (13-25, 21-25, 25-11, 25-22, 15-13). Sophomore Taylor Leath dominated the match with 26 kills to lead the Tar Heels to their third victory over a top-10 team this season. With the win, the Tar Heels distance themselves at the top of the ACC standings at 21-3 (13-1 ACC), while FSU falls to 18-5 (11-3 ACC).
“This was momentous for our program, with us being able to get two come-from-behind victories this weekend,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “This is one of the most memorable matches I’ve been involved in with Carolina Volleyball. To be down two sets to none and get off to such a bad start and then to turn it around so quickly and show what we’re capable of doing.
“I thought we played hard the whole match and we never gave up, and that effort really paid off in the fourth and fifth sets. Just the belief they had in each other, to be down 13-10 in the fifth set, 21-18 in the fourth, we could have easily folded but we seemed to get better. We made great plays when the pressure was on.”
Sunday’s victory marks the fourth straight season that the Tar Heels have come back to win a match after trailing 0-2 on the road. UNC erased an 0-2 deficit at Boston College almost exactly one year ago on Nov. 8, and did the same to Georgia Tech in 2014 and at Ohio in 2013.
The win marks UNC’s first against the powerhouse Seminoles in Tallahassee since 2008, while Carolina swept the season series with Florida State for the first time since 2000.
“This one was significant, because we haven’t won here in quite some time,” said Sagula. “The manner by which we came back in the fourth and the fifth sets…To be associated with this team and this match and this kind of play, I’m just really proud to be a part of that.”
Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, native Taylor Leath stepped up in a major way once again for Carolina, posting the most kills for a Tar Heel since 2005 with 26 while hitting a team-best .360. The outside hitter has proven herself as a go-to player against challenging opponents, averaging more than 22 kills in UNC’s wins over top-10 teams. Leath had a double-double in all three top-10 victories as well, tallying 13 this afternoon.
Freshman Julia Scoles showed off her strong arm with 14 kills in the match, while Taylor Borup tallied nine and Taylor Fricano had seven.
“All the pins did a great job for us,” said Sagula. “What a fantastic effort from Leath. She was outstanding. Borup’s contributions over the final three sets were significant. Scoles really improved her play from Friday. We had 30 attempts again from the middle, creating more balance. We didn’t pass well early and our pins took big swings and that kept us in the match.”
Libero Sheila Doyle registered her 17th career 20-dig performance, leading Carolina with 22, while Scoles added seven to go with Leath’s 13. Senior Abigail Curry led the Heels in assists with 29, while freshman Mariah Evans had 17.
UNC’s blocking unit had just seven stuffs in the match, with four each by Fricano and Beth Nordhorn.
The Seminoles grabbed a 3-0 lead to open the match. Back-to-back kills by Leath cut the deficit to one, 4-3, but another Florida State run put the Seminoles back on top, 8-5. FSU controlled the remainder of the frame, rattling off the final six points of the set to win the opener, 25-13.
Carolina replied to take an early 7-4 lead in the second set, and Leath’s fifth kill of the set made it 12-9 Tar Heels. The Seminoles regrouped after a timeout to pull within one, but another kill by Leath kept FSU from tying the score, 13-11. However, Milica Kubura went on a tear, slamming four kills over six points to flip a 16-15 deficit to a 20-16 Florida State lead. UNC pulled back within two, 23-21, on another kill by Leath, but kills by Katie Horton and Mara Green closed out the second set, 25-21, and put UNC in an 0-2 hole for the first time in two months.
The Tar Heels opened up the third set with a 5-1 lead, then Doyle served up an eight-point run to give Carolina a daunting 17-6 advantage. The Tar Heels continued to roll, and a kill by Nordhorn closed out the third for UNC, 25-11.
Carolina rode the momentum into the fourth set, racing to an 8-1 lead on a fantastic serving run by Scoles. Florida State slowly pulled itself back in it, 14-10, then used a seven-point run to overtake the lead, 17-14. The Tar Heels cut the deficit to one, 18-17, on a block by Leath and Nordhorn, but FSU went right back ahead, 21-18. A kill by Treacy put the ball in Doyle’s hands, and she kicked off a five-point service run with an ace to retake the lead. A kill by Scoles made it set point, and Borup and Fricano teamed up on the block to close out the set, 25-22, and send the match to five.
A service ace by Katie Horton gave Florida State the first real lead of the fifth set, 6-4, and a block by Melanie Keil and Christina Ambrose extended the advantage to 9-5. A kill by Horton seemingly put the match away for the Seminoles, 13-10, but Carolina never gave in as two straight kills by Leath cut the deficit to one, 13-12. Florida State called timeout, but a great serve by Greer Moseman set up Nordhorn for the kill, tying the score at 13. Natasha Calkins sent one deep and out of bounds to set up Carolina match point, and Nordhorn gave herself a present for her 21st birthday teaming up with Leath for the block to complete the comeback, 15-13.
“Greer, in two straight matches came off the bench and was the spark plug we needed to make something happen for us,” said Sagula. “We had great starters and finishers and just a great team effort.”
After playing 10 of their first 14 ACC matches on the road, the Tar Heels return home to Carmichael for the remainder of the regular season. UNC opens the six-match homestand on Friday, Nov. 11, with rematch with Clemson at 7:30 p.m. Friday’s home match will be a part of a Tar Heel doubleheader, with UNC women’s basketball hosting its season opener at 4 p.m.
Courtesy Florida State Athletics:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s Christina Ambrose recorded her second career double-double (15 kills, 11 digs), but it was not enough to offset a 26-kill, 13-dig outing by North Carolina’s Taylor Leath as the No. 12 Tar Heels (21-3, 13-1 ACC) downed the 10th-ranked Seminoles (18-5, 11-3 ACC) by scores of 25-13, 25-21, 11-25, 22-25, 13-15 in Sunday afternoon Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball action at Tully Gym.
Ambrose, who reached double figures in kills for the 10th time this season, also led the way for the Seminoles in hitting percentage (.303) by virtue of 15 strikes on 33 swings. She was effective on defense for Florida State with 11 digs and five assisted blocks as she recorded her second double-double in the last four contests.
Also coming through with a double-double for the Seminoles was senior Katie Horton, tallying her 20th as she finished off the match with 13 digs, 10 kills. Combining for 26 digs in a pair of weekend matches, Horton is now 55 away from recording 1,000 digs in her collegiate career.
Milica Kubura capped off her 13th double figure kill performance of the season by contributing three assisted blocks. She was one of five Seminoles with multiple blocks along with Melanie Keil (seven total blocks), Mara Green (five), Natasha Calkins (two) and the aforementioned Ambrose.
The Seminole back row was anchored by libero Cecile Woie (23 digs), who topped 20 digs for the third time this season and second time in the last three matches. Florida State’s Hailey Luke topped double figures in assists (28) as the team tallied 56 kills and a .208 attack percentage.
Florida State seemingly turned the momentum back in its favor after breaking a four-all tie with kills by Green and Kubura as it took a 9-5 lead in the fifth set. Solid defense from Kubura and Keil up front, along with strikes by Horton and Ambrose eventually put the Seminoles in front 13-10 as North Carolina called its first timeout.
Leath accepted the challenge by the Seminoles, driving home a pair of kills to cut the lead to one before teammate Beth Nordhorn penetrated the FSU defense with a strike to knot the set at 13-all. Leading by one, the Tar Heels closed out the victory on an assisted block by Leath and Nordhorn.
Trailing 2-1 in the match, Leath opened the fourth set with three kills as the Tar Heels established a 9-4 lead. Horton and Green answered with strikes for the Seminoles, trimming the deficit to three before Luke took over in serve. The Florida State lineup rallied behind its senior captain, using three assisted blocks from Keil and two by Calkins to grab a 17-15 advantage.
North Carolina rallied, scoring six of the next 10 points, to draw even at 21. Leath and Taylor Treacy recorded consecutive kills to give the Tar Heels a two-point edge before a block by Taylor Fricano and Taylor Borup sent the match to a decisive fifth set.
Facing an uphill battle entering the third set, North Carolina streaked out to a 12-6 lead behind two kills each from Leath and Julia Scoles as well as a pair of assisted blocks by Fricano and Beth Nordhorn.
“Heartbreaking match for the team today,” said head coach Chris Poole. “North Carolina showed why they have been so good this year with wins over Penn State and Wisconsin. They didn’t give up after the second set and we failed to maintain the same aggressiveness coming out in the third set.
“We need to do a better job of being consistent and learning to step up late in these sets and matches,” added Poole. Our coaching staff is committed to helping our team improve and in making this year’s team stronger on the court.”
A Seminole timeout was not enough to derail North Carolina, which used three kills by Scoles and two by Borup to establish a 22-8 lead. Kills by Brianne Burkert and Calkins were unable to kick-start the Florida State offense as the Tar Heels cruised to victory in the third set.
North Carolina bounced back from a difficult opening set with four kills from Leath as it established a 12-9 lead in the second, forcing a Seminole timeout. Florida State regained its previous offensive rhythm with six kills among the next 11 points, including three kills from Kubura, to forge in front 17-16.
The inspired Seminoles eventually stretched their lead to four, 20-16, following an assisted block by Green, Kubura and Ambrose. Timely strikes by the combination of Ambrose, Green and Horton down the stretch gave Florida State a 2-0 advantage heading into the intermission.
Six kills inside the first 13 points of the opening frame, including two each from Kubura and Ambrose, helped the Seminoles establish an 8-4 advantage. North Carolina briefly narrowed the margin to three, but two kills by Green and a pair of unforced errors by the Tar Heels allowed Florida State to stretch its lead to six, 15-9.
Luke handed out assists to the trio of Keil, Horton and Green as the Seminole lead grew to 21-13. With Horton in serve, Florida State received a strike from Green and back-to-back kills by Kubura to complete the 12-point win.
Florida State returns to the court on Friday evening when the Seminoles begin a four-match road swing against Boston College (Nov. 11) at 7:30 p.m. Two days later Florida State concludes the weekend with a match against Syracuse (Nov. 13) at 1 p.m.
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