Volleyball

North Carolina volleyball coach Joe Sagula took a seat in the stands of an emptying Smith Center, tightening his lips and shaking his head. He was trying to come away with something positive from the match he had just coached.

UNC fell to Clemson in five sets Saturday, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19, 20-25, 11-15. The loss dropped the Tar Heels to a tie for fifth place in the ACC as the Tigers passed them in the standings.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words on this one,” Sagula said. “This is a sad loss for us, and for me, reason is, it takes us out of the ACC race.”

The Dean Smith Center was packed.

In the hours before Late Night with Roy kicked off, a season-high 12,700 fans came out and cheered on the North Carolina volleyball team as the Tar Heels took on archrival Duke on Friday night.

The Tar Heels played against a tough 16-4 (6-1 ACC) Duke team who was tied for first in the ACC. UNC, which sat in second place in the conference standings, used effective defensive play to keep the Blue Devils in check and pull off the upset, 3-1.

On match point in the fourth set against Wake Forest, Aleksandra Georgieva delivered a critical service ace, catapulting the North Carolina women’s volleyball team to a 3-1 win over its conference rival Sunday in the Dean Smith Center.

“I think that this a character win; it tells us a little bit about who we are,” coach Joe Sagula said after the match. “I’m proud of what we’re doing and how well we’re playing. I think that we’re maturing.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With its losing streak at three matches after a heartbreaker at Delaware, the North Carolina women’s volleyball team tried to turn things around against American University on Sunday.

Playing at Bender Arena, UNC had a fan base outnumbering American’s. Despite the perceived effect of limiting home court advantage, the Tar Heels fell 3-1.

The first set stayed neck and neck with seven ties and four lead changes. American finally sealed the game 25-22 with tough play from its blockers.

In an otherwise disappointing weekend for North Carolina volleyball, the Tar Heels had a triumphant Friday, rallying from a two-set deficit to defeat Tennessee.

The match was particularly meaningful to sophomore setter Erica Behm, who tallied career highs in digs and assists.

Behm had struggled with passing in the first two weekends of the season, averaging 1.26 digs per set.

“Defensively, I haven’t been 100 percent this year,” Behm said.

The struggles peaked in practice Tuesday when Behm had a rough day on defense.