RALEIGH — The North Carolina women's volleyball team passed and swung itself past an inferior N.C. State squad Tuesday at the Reynolds Coliseum.
With a renewed focus on the fundamentals of the game the Tar Heels (10-8 4-3 ACC) were able to execute their game plan and win a match they were expected to win something they couldn't manage against Virginia on Friday.
Coach Joe Sagula said he was pleased with his team's passing and outside hitting" two things he indicated as keys to UNC's season.
""If Lauren Prussing and Sue Haydel are getting 31 kills between the two of them" I'm pretty happy" Sagula said.
The outside hitters were consistent, as was senior libero Brianna Eskola, who racked up 33 digs in the match.
She was all over the court tonight" first-year defensive specialist Kaylie Gibson said. She really read the hitters well and was in the right spot every time on defense" and her passing was great.""
Eskola countered N.C. State setter Alex Smith" who frequently turned around to take an attack instead of setting.
Being left-handed Smith could take a full swing on sets tight to the net an advantage that right-handers don't have.
Benefitting from the strong passing game was junior middle hitter Heather Brooks" who had nine kills in 13 attempts in the first two sets.
""We've been working a lot in practice" getting the balls to the middles and having the middles be really consistent Brooks said.
Brooks was happy to get so many good attack attempts.
The passing was great so that allows us to be able to set the middle which is just awesome" Brooks said.
Sagula described Eskola as dominant in the first two sets, which North Carolina took 25-14 and 25-16.
But in the second set, the team struggled on defense, resulting in a 23-25 defeat.
(The Wolfpack) picked up their serving"" Sagula said. They served short; they really put pressure on us.""
The Tar Heels bounced back to take the third set" 25-16 capping a big victory against the Wolfpack (9-13" 3-4 ACC).
UNC was able to execute its game plan after focusing on competitive play in practice.
""We do a lot of scrimmaging"" Gibson said. We'll do six-on-six drills throughout practice.""
Gibson could not come up with any particular reason for the team's improved passing but said passing can be up and down on a match-to-match basis.
""It's really a mental thing"" Gibson said. Serve receive's all mental. We can pass. We know how to pass.
""It's just whether we have it in our minds and we're confident enough" and I think we were just confident tonight" and we just really wanted to beat State.""
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Passing game solid for Tar Heel volleyball
