UNC volleyball swept by Boston College in seventh straight loss

The UNC volleyball team lost in straight sets to Boston College (13-9, 3-7 ACC) Sunday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass., extending its losing streak to seven matches. 

What happened?

North Carolina (5-14, 1-9 ACC) has struggled all season to win, and that habit continued on a northern road trip this weekend. On Friday, the Tar Heels lost to Syracuse, 3-0. Although they were able to keep all three sets close, that effort did not translate to winning sets. 

Against Boston College, the struggle to finish sets continued, and the team lost, 3-0, despite getting more blocks than the Eagles. 

In the first set, the two teams exchanged points from the start and were eventually tied at 25-25. After an attack error from North Carolina and a kill from Boston College, the Eagles pulled out a 27-25 win. The Tar Heels dropped a set that they could have won and ultimately could have turned the momentum for the rest of the game.

“Boston College took a lot of momentum from that first set,” head coach Joe Sagula said. 

After losing a pivotal first set, the Tar Heels came out flat in the second set and were unable to come close to the Eagles, losing 25-12. North Carolina showed some signs of life in the third set, but it was too little too late.

"We dug ourselves in a hole,” Sagula said.

The Tar Heels dropped the third set, 25-19, finishing the day without winning a set.

Who stood out?

Junior Skylar Wine led North Carolina with eleven kills on the day, and added a block. She was a big part of the Tar Heels making it close in the first set and continued to make an impact throughout the rest of the match.

When was it decided?

After losing the first set, it was hard for North Carolina to come back. The Tar Heels haven't won a set since Oct. 7th, and coming that close but failing did not make it easy to play through the rest of the match. 

“I was hopeful for this team that winning a tight set would have built some confidence,” Sagula said. Losing that set deflated whatever confidence the Tar Heels had left, leading to them losing the next two sets. 

Why does it matter?

After losing this match, North Carolina is on a seven game losing streak, with all of those seven losses coming from teams in the ACC. 

“I want this team to believe that we have the ability to win matches,” Sagula said. “The problem we have is we have yet to have all six players play well for a whole match.”

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels look to rebound against Georgia Tech as they travel to Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 26. 

@KeeganWill

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