Volleyball continues winning streak against NCSU

The third set belongs to the Tar Heels.

It’s the North Carolina volleyball team’s motto, and so far, it’s the team’s record too.

UNC has yet to lose a third set this season, and that tradition continued as the Tar Heels swept N.C. State 3-0 in their conference-opener Wednesday.

Winning the match in the third set wasn’t as easy as the Tar Heels expected, though. The Wolfpack took early leads in all three sets.

And when that happened, graduate student outside hitter Jovana Bjelica said she thought the team needed to pick it up.

“I think we didn’t play our volleyball,” said Bjelica, who finished the game with eight kills and six digs.

“We kind of fed into their kind of play, and we need to do better. This match was supposed to be much easier for us and we were kind of gambling 23-23.”

After sophomore middle blocker Victoria McPherson tied the game at 23 in the third set, UNC tacked on the additional two points necessary to keep the team’s third-set win-streak alive and remain undefeated.

“I like it when the score is tied because there is more pressure and then you’re more into the game,” Bjelica said.

“But it’s not supposed to be that way. If we can beat this team 25-15, then we should beat that team 25-15.”

Coach Joe Sagula said it’s easy for teams to get complacent when they have a lead.

“We just know that when you play volleyball, there’s always a tendency for teams to let up in the third set if you win the first two,” Sagula said.

“We just have a commitment to try to stay focused and if we’re doing well — doesn’t matter if we won the first or second, doesn’t matter – but we make a point that we think the third set is a pivotal one.”

While the Tar Heels scored the first point of the match, it didn’t take long for the Wolfpack to sneak up from behind to take the lead.

N.C. State maintained the lead in the first set until North Carolina regained control and tied the game 19-19 with a kill from McPherson.

McPherson added nine of the team’s 40 kills. She said the slow starts actually helped the team in finishing out each set.

“It’s frustrating,” McPherson said. “I know we start on the wrong foot, which sets the tone for the whole game, which sucks, but it doesn’t really keep us down for too long.”

“It kind of motivates us to play hard to get us out of the rut and helped us get back from being so far down.”

That losing-early-winning-late trend continued in the second and third sets, but Sagula said he knew the team would finish each set with a win — especially the third set.

“We just have a commitment to try to get after it in the third set,” Sagula said. “I thought we did and then we had a nice lead and then we let it slip away.

“But that’s really important for us to keep that going and try to focus. As opposed to just playing, we like to play and have a purpose to win.”

sports@dailytarheel.com