UNC volleyball gains valuable lessons in ACC Big-Ten Challenge loss

Two nights, two packed gyms, two very different endings.

On night one: ballistic screams and cheers not yet heard this season in Carmichael Arena for the No. 11 North Carolina volleyball team. On night two: groans and murmurs as the home team struggled to connect in a disappointing loss.

Coming off a potentially season-defining 3-2 win over No. 2 Wisconsin (6-1) on Friday night, UNC (6-1) returned to earth Saturday — getting demolished in the opening two sets en route to a 3-1 loss against No. 5 Minnesota (5-1) in the Tar Heels’ first loss of the season.

“It was time for us to learn,” Coach Joe Sagula said. “And this got our attention.”

UNC matched Wisconsin blow for blow in front of a rowdy crowd Friday, winning the final two sets behind the strong play of redshirt junior Taylor Fricano — who tallied 15 kills and seven blocks. She transferred to UNC from Wisconsin in 2015.

“It’s beautiful to beat someone who didn’t think you could do it,” Fricano said.

The whole team played well against a very strong Wisconsin side. Cheered on by a crowd of nearly 4,000 fans, the Tar Heels stayed focused through long rallies and beared down through tight sets to pull out the win.

On Saturday, however, the Tar Heels came out flat — dropping the first two sets by 14 and 13 points, respectively. UNC combined for 15 attack errors in those two sets, compared to three attack errors by the Golden Gophers.

“We were down so much so early, we were just climbing up hill,” Sagula said. “And we just couldn’t get out of it.”

Co-captain Abigail Curry said UNC was not mentally ready to deal with the Golden Gophers’ fast-paced attack.

“Our failure in the first two sets was not technical,” Curry, a senior, said. “It was a mental breakdown on our side.”

The second two sets went better for the Tar Heels, who won the third set before losing a close fourth set. First-year Taylor Borup was constantly relied upon down the stretch, as she hit a career-high 17 kills with four blocks.

The early deficit was too much to overcome, though. While UNC upped its game in the fourth set, Minnesota maintained its high level of play to close out the match.

Despite the poor play at the start of the match, Sagula said he thought the loss would end up as a good thing. Besides, he’d rather have it happen now than in ACC play.

“This match will help us,” Sagula said. “Probably even more than the Wisconsin win.”

His co-captain agreed.

“Being undefeated and not experiencing failure throughout your season is probably one of the worst things that could happen ...” Curry said.

“This is going to be a good thing — to realize that we have a lot of work to do.”

@sjdoughton

sports@dailytarheel.com