Entering Friday's match, both the North Carolina volleyball team and No. 18 Florida State were undefeated in October.
But on Friday in Carmichael Arena, UNC blinked first. The Tar Heels (8-8, 5-2 ACC) fell to the Seminoles in five sets (25-20, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10). The match broke UNC's four-game winning streak to open the month.
The Seminoles (14-4, 7-0 ACC) won a close first set that saw seven ties and four lead changes. With the score tied at 15, Florida State used a 10-5 run to push past the Tar Heels.
But neither team hit the ball well in the opening set. UNC managed just a .143 hitting percentage and had six attack errors, while Florida State had a .133 hitting percentage and nine errors.
Late in the second set, the Seminoles held a 22-17 lead, but UNC went on an 8-0 run to tie the match at a set apiece. Senior Paige Neuenfeldt and redshirt sophomore Taylor Fricano had two kills each during the run, accounting for four of the Tar Heels' 18 kills in the set.
UNC then took a 2-1 lead in the match with the help of three kills each from Fricano and Neuenfeldt in the third set. Florida State held an early 6-3 lead, but the Tar Heels tied the set at 6 and never trailed the rest of the set.
The Seminoles responded with a victory in the fourth set, slamming 17 kills in the process.
And in the tiebreaker set, Florida State notched a game-high .346 hitting percentage to take the match.
