The No. 24 North Carolina volleyball team is in trouble.
After losing just four games in 2016, UNC eclipsed that mark this weekend when it fell to Loyola Marymount (7-4) on Friday night in five sets. Now eight games into its season, the team sits at 3-5.
The Tar Heels were ranked 11th in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association entering 2017. But their loss on Friday night will likely take them out of the top 25 rankings for the second time this season.
After falling 25-17 in the first set, UNC took the next two by scores of 27-25 and 25-19. The Tar Heels seemed to be in control in the fourth set before things started to fall apart.
“I thought we were up 10-9 in the fourth set, and all of a sudden, we just seemed like a different team,” head coach Joe Sagula said. “It seemed like a different team stepped into their bodies, and the energy level went down.”
The Lions scored 16 of the next 20 points to win the fourth set, 25-14. They carried that momentum into the tiebreaking fifth set and finished off the Tar Heels, 15-11.
UNC rebounded on Saturday night, defeating Coastal Carolina. But it took them five sets to get the job done. With ACC play beginning on Sept. 22, the Tar Heels have some work to do to regain last year’s form.
“I think that what’s great about this team is we are continuing to learn and adapt,” redshirt junior Taylor Leath said. “Still the same thing, different lineups, looking at different situations all the time, and I don’t think we are at where we need to be but I think every single day we are growing to get there.”
Senior Beth Nordhorn echoed a similar sentiment, and neither player seemed too concerned by the Tar Heels' slow start.
