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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC volleyball advances to Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament with 3-1 win over Coastal Carolina

The No. 6 North Carolina volleyball team defeated Coastal Carolina in four sets on Saturday (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-16) to advance to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

What happened?

UNC (29-3, 19-1 ACC) started off slowly, dropping the first set 25-23 due to errors on both sides of the ball. After finding themselves in a 5-2 hole, the Tar Heels were never quite able to recover. Coastal Carolina’s 28 digs, in addition to UNC’s five attacking errors, held the Tar Heel offense to a .220 hitting percentage.

Led by redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath, the Tar Heels posted 18 digs in the second set on their way to a 25-19 win. Down 6-1, Coach Joe Sagula called a timeout, and a subsequent kill by first-year Taylor Borup set up a three-point run. The second set saw four ties and two lead changes, but the Tar Heels were able to secure the win with a kill by Borup.

The third set was the Tar Heels’ from the get-go, never relinquishing the lead after a 3-0 start. This time, redshirt senior Hayley McCorkle led the show up front, totaling four kills at key moments in UNC’s 25-17 win.

Once again, the Tar Heels got off to a hot start and the Chanticleers just could not catch up in the fourth set. Redshirt junior Taylor Fricano dominated the net with four blocks in the set as UNC easily won the set 25-16.

When was it decided?

After going back and forth all of the second set, Coastal Carolina called a timeout with UNC up 18-17. Leath went on a three-point serving run coming out of the timeout and kept the momentum for the Tar Heels. Borup was fed the ball on match point and slammed it into the middle of the court to seal the deal. The Chanticleers were never able to regain the momentum, and the Tar Heels went on to dominate the rest of the match.

Who stood out?

Fricano moved up in the UNC record book on Saturday night after totaling eight blocks. She now ranks third all-time in single-season block assists with 138, and the record is 142.

Leath once again proved why she is the ACC Player of the Year. The redshirt sophomore contributed on all sides of the ball, putting up 13 kills, 11 digs and one ace.

McCorkle was as reliable as can be for the Tar Heel offense. She posted a season-high 14 kills and only one error in the win.

Why does it matter?

Coastal Carolina (28-5) came into the match having won just as many matches as the Tar Heels and forced the Tar Heels to make errors. After the first two sets, UNC found its rhythm and proved why it holds the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This match ends the Tar Heels’ time at Carmichael this season and sets up a potential Final Four run.

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels will play in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament either next Friday or Saturday in Minneapolis.

sports@dailytarheel.com

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