Closing. It has been an issue for North Carolina volleyball much of the season. Whether that was closing out a set or a match, the Tar Heels just couldn’t seem to get it done consistently.
But things are finally starting to click. Just in time, too.
The Tar Heels (14-10, 11-5 ACC) swept Clemson (7-21, 2-14 ACC) in their final regular season home match of 2017. It was a game of runs, and UNC was timely with those successful stretches.
From the jump, North Carolina looked like the better team. It came out on fire, grabbing a 15-6 lead in the first set in what felt like no time at all. But Clemson wasn't about to lay down, and the Tigers stormed back with a massive run to tie the set at 16-16.
“Earlier in the year, we might lose that set,” head coach Joe Sagula said. “But we’re learning now to be patient enough and just settle down.”
With the score knotted at 20-20, there was a shift. The team did not look rattled or frantic — it looked calm. And as the crowd grew louder, confidence grew. The Tar Heels went on a 5-0 run to claim the first set.
“I think the whole season we were kind of on extreme ends. Like way too relaxed … or we were super, super stressed,” redshirt senior Taylor Fricano said. “Right now, we’ve been playing with it back and forth, and we’ve finally found that happy median.”
There’s no doubt that this run set the mood for the entire match. This trend continued to the second set, as once again it was competitive midway through. This time, the team finished the set on a 5-1 mid-set run to close it out 25-18. These runs simply wore out the Tigers, and that was obvious by the start of the third set. North Carolina rolled over Clemson in the final set, 25-12. But yet again, it is so important to be able to close out opponents.
There are four games left in what has been a disappointing regular season, but it is not over. All those games are on the road against formidable opponents in Notre Dame, Louisville, Wake Forest and Duke.
