Playing at the Smith Center before Friday’s Late Night With Roy, the UNC volleyball team was shutout, 3-0, against No. 6 Pittsburgh in front of a crowd of 6,043.
What happened?
UNC (5-11, 1-6 ACC) quickly went down 9-1 in the opening set and did not find a way to fight its way back. The Panthers (19-0, 7-0 ACC) remained dominant at the net for majority of the first set, with several blocks and strong defensive plays. Pitt finished the set, 25-13, and continued its momentum into the second and the third sets.
UNC took its first lead of the match early in the second set and matched the Panthers' pace until they ultimately pulled away. Head coach Joe Sagula made some lineup changes in the third set looking for a spark of energy from the Tar Heels. Pitt, however, was unfazed and clinched the match with a third set score of 25-16.
Who stood out?
First-year Ava Bell lead the Tar Heels with a hitting percentage of .250, doubling the average of the Tar Heels’ team percentage of .103 for the match. Junior Greer Moseman also had three assists and five digs.
“I liked the way Greer Moseman played. She plays hard, she’s going after it, she plays inspired there” Sagula said. “We tried to mix things up in the third set, Kendra Koetter came in and did a good job getting some people pumped up. I don’t think we set well, I think the passing went away at times when we needed it.”
When was it decided?
The Panthers set the tone at the beginning of the match when they won nine of the first 10 points. There was a glimmer of hope for a comeback in set two when the Tar Heels took a 7-5 lead. They matched the Panthers point by point, but Pitt won the second set by eight points and carried that domination into the final set.
