The bad news for the North Carolina women's volleyball team is that Florida State swept the Tar Heels 25-17 25-20 25-21 Friday night at the Smith Center breaking a nine-game winning streak.
The good news is that UNC (20-10 14-5 ACC) is still in control of its destiny and can clinch the ACC title with a win in its last regular season game Nov. 28 against N.C. State.
After a four-set defeat of Miami on Thursday night the Tar Heels came out slow in all three sets against FSU which led to early leads for Seminoles (21-8" 13-6 ACC) that the Tar Heels couldn't recover from.
""For us we focused a lot on Miami because of the tiebreaker"" said senior libero Brianna Eskola, whose game-high 15 digs leave her only four career digs away from setting a new ACC all-time record.
I just think we weren't prepared physically or mentally for what they threw at us.""
The Seminoles out-hit the Tar Heels on UNC's senior night" swinging .228 compared to the Tar Heels' .175 hitting percentage.
North Carolina never looked in synch and while the Tar Heels made a few runs throughout the game" none were big enough to grab a set away from the Seminoles.
""The rhythm of the game was just awkward for us tonight" coach Joe Sagula said. When we were out of system" we made stupid errors.
""We have to learn how to be good early.""
He added that the loss would make UNC a better team in preparation for the N.C. State game and potential run in the NCAA tournament.
""It's just a big lesson for us to learn" Sagula said. It's a hard lesson to learn at this point" but we needed to learn this lesson with a little bit of pressure.""
The Tar Heels could have clinched the ACC title and NCAA tournament appearance with a win" but now they will have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get another opportunity.
It has come down to one game for the Tar Heels and if they take down the Wolfpack UNC will end the season atop the ACC" because of a tiebreaker advantage against Duke.
""This match obviously leaves a sour taste in our mouth" Eskola said. But hopefully" at the same time we can take it and use it as some motivation and take our revenge out on N.C. State and finish out on top.""
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
Tar Heels drop first match since mid-October
