DURHAM — The No. 22 North Carolina volleyball team missed its opportunity.
UNC (20-9, 17-3 ACC) dropped the last three sets to Duke (17-13, 12-8 ACC) on Saturday after winning the first in Cameron Indoor Stadium, denying the Tar Heels a share of the ACC championship and ending their 12-game winning streak.
The 3-1 loss (20-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16) marked the last regular-season match of the year for the Tar Heels, who split two contests with Duke.
Senior middle hitter Victoria McPherson said the Tar Heels failed to grab a share of the championship when they had the chance.
“It stinks to have gotten the opportunity that we did and to kind of have it end that way, but we know what we need to do moving forward from here,” she said.
The Tar Heels battled through a tight first set to pull away at the end and win 25-20. The ACC title was within the Tar Heels’ grasp, but they failed to capitalize.
In the second set, the momentum began to change. Coach Joe Sagula said the team was equally bad in every phase of the game, and Duke took advantage.
“We knew what they were going to do and they were still able to do it,” he said. “We could not slow them down.”
Duke won the last three sets of the match in convincing fashion. Junior setter Abigail Curry — who led the team with 39 assists — said North Carolina lacked communication and couldn’t get into a rhythm.
