While the members of North Carolina’s volleyball team are likely thankful for many things, it’s certain they are all grateful to have made it out of North Carolina State’s Reynolds Coliseum with a win.
Wednesday’s match was reminiscent of UNC’s mercurial performance against the Wolfpack on Oct. 4, in which the Tar Heels barely managed to hang on for a 3-2 victory after handily winning the first two frames. This time UNC managed to prevent a fifth set, but not at the expense of some drama.
The Tar Heels didn’t lead in the first set until a Chaniel Nelson kill broke a 5-5 tie to put UNC up 6-5. Nelson followed with another spike — she had 6 in the set and 15 on the night — to give her team the lead for good.
“I think we started off really strong,” said Nelson, who along with teammates Emily McGee and Kaylie Gibson was named to this season’s all-ACC roster.
“N.C. State is one of our biggest rivals, so I felt like everyone wanted to win our last ACC game, especially for the seniors. And this determines how well we’re going to play in the NCAA, how hard we’re going to fight.”
The Tar Heels had no way of knowing how much of a fight it would be, though. After cruising to a 25-18 victory in the first set, it was as if a switch had been flipped in the second. N.C. State galloped out to an inexplicable 15-2 lead much to the delight of the boisterous Wolfpack crowd thanks to the efforts of freshman outside hitter Daryian Hopper and its own All-ACC selection, Margaret Salata.
But the Tar Heels contributed to their own demise more than any one of their opponents. UNC struggled to break N.C. State’s momentum or generate any of their own, and ended the set with 13 errors and only 10 points.
“In the second set, the biggest thing was that our passing broke down completely,” coach Joe Sagula said. “Kaylie (Gibson) couldn’t pass well, Emily (McGee) wasn’t passing well and had seven hitting errors in that game. Nothing was going well and no one was able to generate any positive plays for us, and we broke down.”
But Sagula said it was the resilience of the team’s leaders, McGee and Gibson in particular, that allowed the Tar Heels to regain a handle on the Wolfpack in the third set.