After a rocky start to the season, the North Carolina volleyball team (4-9, 1-2 ACC) flipped the script against N.C. State (5-10, 0-3 ACC) in Raleigh, claiming its first ACC victory, 3-2, in a five-set thriller on Wednesday.
What happened?
After dropping its first two conference games against Notre Dame and Louisville over the weekend, the first set seemed to signal more of the same for UNC.
Reynolds Coliseum was rocking as the Wolfpack won a close set, 25-23, capitalizing on some faulty serving by the Tar Heels.
The first of two game-defining comebacks started after the first set.
North Carolina turned up the pressure on defense, taking the second set, 25-20, and the third set, 25-18, to reclaim control of the match. The third set saw some of the Tar Heels’ best play this season, as they kept the Wolfpack from successfully completing a single attack.
Despite two victorious sets in a row, UNC was unable to close out the fourth set. N.C. State’s Jessica Kemp tormented North Carolina around the net, recording five kills in a fourth set comeback by the Wolfpack. The 25-21 loss kept N.C. State's chances alive and pushed the match to a decisive fifth set.
It appeared that the Wolfpack would ride their momentum and come away with a victory once they cruised ahead to an 8-3 advantage in the final set, just seven points away from a win for the evening.
With the crowd against them and the possibility of a winless conference record looming, the Tar Heels executed their second game-defining comeback. They scored 12 out of the next 16 points to bounce back and take the match.
