Volleyball loses 10th straight, swept by Duke at Carmichael Arena

The UNC volleyball team faced off against rival Duke at Carmichael Arena Friday night. UNC was swept for the third time in a row in Chapel Hill.

What happened?

The Tar Heels (5-17, 1-12 ACC) started the game strong in the first set, staying aggressive at the net to pull ahead, 3-1, on the Blue Devils (14-8, 8-5 ACC). The two teams battled, switching leads four times throughout the set. 

Duke had five serving errors in the first frame, two of which were in the first five points. Both the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels stayed bold offensively and each had three team blocks in the first set. After a long rally in the middle of the first set Duke tied the score at 12 and pulled ahead after that to keep the lead for the remainder of the set winning, 25-23. 

Similar to the first set, both teams continued to battle, controlling momentum on their side of the court in spurts in the second set. The Blue Devils kept the lead for the majority of the set but there was a glimpse of hope for UNC to finish after a block from redshirt sophomore Katharine Esterley and an ace from senior Casey Jacobs late in the frame to make it 23-21. Duke closed out the second set and brought its energy into the final frame. 

Duke took an early lead but the Tar Heels came back to tie the score, 5-5. UNC continued to collect points in the middle of the set, with several aces and blocks. Duke came back to tie the score, 18-18. The score went point-by-point for the rest of the set but Duke clung to another win (26-24) to settle the game in three sets.

Who stood out?

Esterley and sophomore Aristea Tontai each had a .556 hitting percentage. Junior Skylar Wine had a team-high nine kills. Jacobs led both sides of the court in digs (12) and junior Mia Fradenburg followed closely to help UNC’s defense (10). Fradenburg leads the Tar Heels in digs this season (283). 

“My favorite player for us tonight was Katharine Esterley," head coach Joe Sagula said. "She worked really hard in transition, she gave us everything she could. She is more of a defensive middle for us, a blocker, and she gave us some really good offense tonight and got some good touches. She stopped their [Duke] big hitters every now and then, I really liked what she did.”

When was it decided?

The game had 26 ties, proving neither team appeared to dominate at any point. The Blue Devils were able to finish each set stronger than the Tar Heels which made the difference in Friday's game. 

“I thought that it was really unfortunate that we just could not get one good play at the end," Sagula said. "I’m proud of our team they showed some good character, played hard, never gave up, played to the last possible point. We definitely use this to build some confidence and keep moving forward."

Why does it matter?

Duke came into Friday's game on a four-game winning streak, its last win being against No. 8 Pittsburgh. The Blue Devils are the only team in the nation to beat Pitt and that win gave them their only win over a ranked opponent this season. The Tar Heels are now on a 10-game losing streak with five matches left in the regular season. 

“We just keep focusing on making progress, we keep focusing on the process and how we’re gonna treat getting better," Sagula said. "We are playing better volleyball now than we were three weeks ago and we keep focusing on that and have them believe in themselves. Everybody is taking a positive mentality. It’s disappointing obviously to lose, nobody wants to lose, and having a losing record and a losing streak but the fact that we are that close. One or two good plays can make the difference and we can just get out of this funk.”

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels face off in another ACC game on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Wake Forest at Carmichael Arena.

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