UNC drops 2 and falls in ACC

Although the weather in Chapel Hill was dismal Friday and Saturday night, Carmichael Auditorium didn't provide much refuge for the North Carolina volleyball team.

The Tar Heels lost their final two regular season conference matches - both in four games - to Miami and Florida State.

On Saturday night, UNC (16-14, 9-7 in the ACC) dropped the first two games of its match with the Seminoles, 30-27 and 30-21. North Carolina came alive in the third, edging Florida State 30-28 behind seven kills from junior Dani Nyenhuis and six digs from Brittany Randel.

But Florida State (18-10, 9-7) proved to be too much for the Tar Heels, winning the fourth game 30-19.

While the win meant a Seminole season sweep of UNC, it also spoiled senior night for North Carolina's five departing players.

"It's a big disappointment," said junior McKenzie Byrd. "They've worked their butts off, and as a team, we couldn't pull it out. They deserved it."

At times during the weekend, the Tar Heels seemed out of sync and unable to keep up against two of the ACC's top teams.

"We're a good enough team to beat anybody in this conference," said UNC coach Joe Sagula. "But we just need to have six people playing really well at the same time."

North Carolina's inconsistency was apparent against FSU. In game two, the Tar Heels' hitting percentage was a meager .091, but a superb .365 in their game three victory.

"We need to improve in our cohesiveness as a team," Byrd said. "We need to play together as a team, and that's where we succeed."

After falling in both ends of the weekend doubleheader, UNC will come into this week's ACC Tournament with three consecutive losses.

Miami's 30-17, 18-30, 30-18, 31-29 win catapulted the Hurricanes ahead of UNC in the conference rankings.

Saturday's loss also allowed the Seminoles to leap-frog North Carolina in the league standings, dropping the Tar Heels to fifth in the ACC.

The last-minute shift in the league standings means that UNC likely will face Florida State in the first round of the single-elimination tournament.

"I think Florida State will be excited to play us," Sagula said. "It's fresh in our minds, it's fresh in their minds. I'm very optimistic that we can beat them."

If UNC can beat the Seminoles, the Tar Heels likely will run into conference-unbeaten Georgia Tech.

Following a tough weekend, a sense of urgency has settled in among the Tar Heels.

With an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament now out of reach, the only way the Tar Heels can advance to play in December is by getting the ACC's automatic bid.

"We don't have anything to lose," said senior Molly Pyles. "It's fight or flight. We're going out there, and we're going to give it all we've got."

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.