Volleyball:Tar Heels’ women’s volleyball kills Wake Forest

On match point in the fourth set against Wake Forest, Aleksandra Georgieva delivered a critical service ace, catapulting the North Carolina women’s volleyball team to a 3-1 win over its conference rival Sunday in the Dean Smith Center.

“I think that this a character win; it tells us a little bit about who we are,” coach Joe Sagula said after the match. “I’m proud of what we’re doing and how well we’re playing. I think that we’re maturing.”

The UNC women won the first set 25-21 after senior Branagan Fuller led with six kills. Fuller is part of a recent outside hitter solution that has carried the Tar Heels to three straight wins after a string of consecutive losses in September.

“The strategy has changed just in the intensity mind set,” sophomore Courtney Johnston said. “The last two weeks, coach Sagula has been on us, making sure we’re intense. If we’re not, he’s creating intensity for us for these kind of matches.”

Wake Forest lost its first ten matches of the season but has recently improved in the conference standings, winning seven of nine matches heading into the game against North Carolina.

UNC led for most of the second set and beat the Deacons quickly, 25-16. Wake Forest rallied back in the third, winning the set — which had eleven tie scores and seven lead changes — 25-21. The Tar Heels won the fourth and final set of the match, 25-20, after breaking away from a 15-15 tie.

“We had a lot of pressure to stop their run, to beat them in our house,” senior Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland said. “Of course our pride is on the line. We just beat Duke. This was really just another message game, just to tell us we’ve really come a long way.”

After a home win against then-ACC leader Duke on Friday, UNC was tied for second place in the loss column alongside the Blue Devils and Georgia Tech. The win against the Wake Forest makes the Tar Heels 10-9 on the season and 6-2 in conference play.

North Carolina has won three straight ACC matchups and will travel next weekend to take on Miami and Florida State. The Seminoles are currently on top of the ACC standings and are ranked 17th in the nation.

“It’s hard to carry momentum from a week later,” Sagula said. “But it gives us confidence to say that we were behind. We can come back against solid teams. Confidence is the key. That carries a lot of weight.”



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