The No. 25 North Carolina volleyball team did not miss a beat this weekend.
Following an emotional ceremony honoring UNC’s five seniors, the Tar Heels (17-8, 14-2 ACC) defeated Virginia Tech 3-0 on Saturday night (25-18, 27-25, 25-20) in Carmichael Arena, marking North Carolina's second win of the year over the Hokies.
“I told the team before this that before we played Virginia Tech the first ACC match of the year, back in September, we were 3-6, and now we’re 17-8," Coach Joe Sagula said. "We’ve come a long way.”
The Tar Heels took control of the first set, totaling six team blocks to the Hokies’ (15-13, 6-10 ACC) one. UNC finished with 11 team blocks on the night.
“In volleyball, one of the biggest things you recognize is kills, but we’ve been a good blocking team," Sagula said. "It’s one that doesn’t get as much attention, but it scores points.”
The second set saw five ties and two lead changes. After taking an 8-3 lead, the Tar Heels allowed the Hokies to fight back and eventually tie the game at 21. But a kill by redshirt freshman Taylor Leath sealed the set for the Tar Heels, who then took a 2-0 lead in the match.
After trailing 8-7 in the third set, two straight kills by Leath lit a fire under the Tar Heels’ offense, which then took a 17-11 lead. Senior Victoria McPherson finished the job with a match-winning kill, her 11th of the night.
“Sometimes if you win a bunch and take it lightly, it’s hard to win,” Sagula said. “Winning back to back is even harder, and this is the first time we’ve had a Friday-Saturday, so I’m really proud that we were able to turn around and do that."