The North Carolina volleyball team found itself in this position over the weekend at the Carolina/Nike Classic. In the title match, the unranked Tar Heels surprised No. 10 Wisconsin with a 3-1 victory.
"This is probably one of the most significant wins in this program's history," said UNC coach Joe Sagula. "We played at a level that was confident, and we didn't just squeak things out, we played like we were in control."
UNC's win against the Badgers capped a three-team sweep for the Tar Heels (3-0).
North Carolina beat New Mexico State (1-2) on Friday night in its season opener and St. John's (0-3) Saturday morning.
Friday's game featured the debut of the libero, a position used on a trial basis in the NCAA last year. The libero is a limited back-line player, distinguished by a contrasting jersey, who can replace any back row player without counting as a substitution.
Using this position soundly, the Tar Heels cruised to a 3-0 victory against the Aggies.
In Saturday morning's match against St. John's, all 15 Tar Heels played in the 3-0 victory. Molly Pyles was vicious, racking up 13 kills and 14 digs.
UNC met Wisconsin on Saturday night with the title at stake. The teams battled throughout the first game before UNC scored three straight to win, 30-28.
Wisconsin took the lead in the second game, running the score to 16-10 before a UNC timeout. The Tar Heels then scored six straight points to tie the game. With the score knotted at 28, Laura Greene and Pyles scored kills to win the game.
