MATCH STATS
- No. 12 North Carolina Defeats North Carolina State (25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 25-14, 15-7)
- Team’s Record: UNC (9-2), NC State (7-6)
- Schedules: UNC here, NC State here
RECAP
After trailing two sets to one, the No. 12 UNC Tar Heels came back to defeat the NC State Wolfpack in five sets in their first ACC match of the season. UNC hit .265 for the match with 64 kills, and most importantly, hit .529 in the final set. NC State, on the other hand, hit .138 for the match with 58 kills.
UNC freshman Julia Scoles stole the show with 19 kills, 10 digs and 7 blocks, not to mention her 5 kills in the deciding fifth set. UNC senior Taylor Treacy (14 kills, 6 blocks) and redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath (15 kills, 16 digs) also had a very strong match. Senior Abigail Curry collected 42 assists and senior Sheila Doyle had 22 digs for the Tar Heels.
For the Wolfpack, Julia Brown had the best overall performance with 17 kills and 21 digs. Perry Ramsey was close behind in offense with 16 kills. On defense, Rachel Eppley had 22 digs and Maggie Speaks had a match-high 48 assists.
Both UNC and NC State will travel north to play their second ACC matches of the season on Sunday. UNC will play Boston College, and NC State will face Syracuse.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Carolina Athletics:
RALEIGH, N.C. – After a strong opening set, No. 12 North Carolina found itself trailing 2-1 at crosstown rival NC State, but the Tar Heels roared back to take the match in five and win the first Atlantic Coast Conference match of the season, 25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 25-14, 15-7. The win lifts UNC to 9-2 (1-0 ACC), while NC State falls to 7-6 (0-1 ACC).
“This was a great win for us,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “What I’m most proud of is the way our team played in the fourth and fifth sets. I thought we got after it with courage, with aggressiveness and a lack of concern or worry with the pressure of knowing that we had to win. I thought we just went out and played hard, and I’m really excited that that’s what we’re capable of doing.”
Freshman Julia Scoles unleashed five kills on eight swings in the deciding fifth set to finish the night close to a triple-double with 18 kills, 10 digs and a personal-best seven blocks. The rookie outside hitter made just one error all night, hitting .386. Senior opposite Taylor Treacy also made just a single error, hitting an impressive .448 with 14 kills and six blocks, while redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 16 digs.
“I thought the energy level was really high,” said Scoles. “We really came together and knew we had to accomplish a common goal, keep the energy up and keep supporting each other to be better.”
Senior Abigail Curry navigated the Tar Heel offense with a season-high 42 assists to go with eight digs, while Mariah Evans added 10 assists in somewhat limited action. Senior libero Sheila Doylepaced the back row, tallying her fourth 20-dig performance of the year and 12th overall with a total of 22 digs.
After a quiet weekend in Fort Worth, the conference-leading Carolina block returned to form on Thursday night, posting 15.0 total blocks to hold the Wolfpack to just .138 hitting. In addition to Scoles (7) and Treacy (6), middles Taylor Fricano and Beth Nordhorn combined for 11 block assists, with Nordhorn’s five coming over the first three sets.
“In particular, I thought our middles did a great job of closing blocks in the fourth and fifth sets,” said Sagula. “I think that really helped us significantly. They really worked so hard to make things happen, and our defense got better because of that.”
The Tar Heels won the first two points of the match, and although the Wolfpack tied the score at five, two straight kills by Leath pushed UNC back in front and Carolina never again trailed. Back-to-back blocks by Nordhorn made it 23-16, and a kill by the junior middle finished out the first set, 25-17. Carolina out-hit the Wolfpack .310 to .087 in the opening frame, propelled by seven kills from Leath.
NC State controlled the second set early, but three kills and a block by Scoles helped turn a 10-8 deficit into a 16-11 Carolina lead. However, the Wolfpack replied with a 7-0 run served out by Rachel Eppley to retake the lead, 18-16. Taylor Borup subbed in a struck a kill, but four late Tar Heel attack errors helped NC State down the stretch, as the Wolfpack evened the match with a 25-20 victory in the second.
The third set began contested, but a 6-0 run by NC State midway through the frame pushed the Wolfpack in front, 18-12. Carolina did not back down, pulling within two, 22-20, on a kill by Scoles, but a service ace helped the Wolfpack finish out the set, 25-21, and take a 2-1 match lead for the first time since 2012.
“I think we became complacent and they took advantage of it,” said Scoles. “We realized we needed to play our game and not play to the level of the opponent.”
A nine-point run by the Tar Heels lifted Carolina to a daunting 15-6 lead in the fourth, as UNC cruised to a 25-14 win to force a fifth set. The Tar Heels hit an impressive .414 with five blocks in the frame to keep the match alive.
“We knew that this was it,” said Scoles. “In the fourth set, we had to come out and give it everything we had to turn it around, because that was the one chance that we had to get to the fifth game. Everyone put in 100 percent effort and the outcome was good.”
NC State won the first three points of the fifth set, but a service error kicked off a 10-1 UNC run to give the Tar Heels a 10-4 lead in the shortened final frame. Scoles and Treacy combined for eight kills on just 12 errorless swings and Hayley McCorkle went 2-for-2 including landing the final kill of the night to complete the Carolina comeback with a 15-7 victory in the fifth set.
The Tar Heels’ extended road stretch continues this weekend with a trip up north to face Boston College on Sunday, Sept. 25. Opening serve in Chestnut Hill is set for Noon.
Courtesy of NC State Athletics:
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State volleyball team went head-to-head with 12th-ranked UNC-Chapel Hill and led 2-1 in the match, but the Tar Heels rallied for the five-set (17-25, 25-20, 25-21, 14-25, 7-15) victory Thursday night inside Reynolds Coliseum.
The Wolfpack falls to 7-6 overall and 0-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, while the Tar Heels improve to 9-2 and 1-0 in league action.
Quoting Hampton-Keith
Opening statement…
“It was a fantastic match played by both teams, but no moral victories,” said head coach Linda Hampton-Keith. “I think the expectation is high and we’re okay with that, so we’re disappointed to lose.
“We had some opportunities there that we didn’t capitalize on. Offensively we had some stalls that we’ll look to address. If you go up 2-1 on a team like that you have to continue to maintain and keep your level high so you can take advantage of that opportunity and finish out with a win. We’ll learn from that and move on and keep plugging away.”
On being a part of the rivalry for the first time…
“It was fun and always is to be a part of the rivalry. The crowd was great and we had lots of fun and exciting things going on in the environment. It was a really fun match to be a part of and I hope our fans keep coming back because I think it was a fun and entertaining game for the fans to see.”
Match Rewind
– NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill each started the match well, as the score was knotted at four and then again at five before the Tar Heels went on a 5-2 run to extend their lead to 13-8.
– The Wolfpack countered later in the frame with a 5-2 run of its own to trim the UNC-CH lead to 19-16, but the Heels reeled off five unanswered en route to the 25-17 first-set win.
– In the second set, NC State recorded its highest attacking percentage of the night with a .306 clip, while limiting UNC-Chapel Hill to a .132 mark.
– UNC started fast in the frame, jumping out to a 16-11 advantage but the Wolfpack won seven consecutive points thanks to some strong serving from senior Rachel Eppley to take an 18-16 lead.
– Leading 19-18, a 4-0 run extended the NCSU lead to 23-18 and Maggie Speaks capped the frame with a kill at the net to even the match at one set apiece with the 25-20 win.
– The Pack kept the momentum rolling into the third set. With the score tied at 12, NC State scored seven unanswered points to grab a 19-12 lead with junior Kaitlyn Kearney igniting the run from the service line.
– After a late comeback, Teni Sopitan put down a kill to give NC State a 2-1 lead in the match with the 25-21 third-set victory.
– UNC-Chapel Hill put together an 8-0 run in the fourth set to pull away from the Wolfpack and force a deciding set with a 25-14 win.
– NC State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth frame, but UNC countered with four consecutive points.
– Tied 4-4, a 6-0 run allowed UNC-CH to build a comfortable lead and the Wolfpack could not recover, dropping the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.
Top Performers
– Junior Julia Brown led the Wolfpack offense with 17 kills and 21 digs to record her fourth consecutive and six overall double-double performance of the season.
– Classmate Perry Ramsey swatted 16 kills, while Sopitan put down 12.
– Speaks dished out a match-high 48 assists to go along with nine digs and five kills from her setter position.
– Defensively, Eppley tied for the match high with 22 digs and Kearney led NC State with four blocks.
Up Next
NC State will to head to New York for its first ACC road trip, as the squad will take on Syracuse Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
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