The No. 8 North Carolina volleyball team barely held onto its seven-game ACC winning streak on Friday, defeating Notre Dame 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-19, 16-25, 15-13).
What happened?
Both teams entered Friday’s match undefeated in ACC play, but it was the Tar Heels' resilience that pushed them past Notre Dame in front of a crowd of nearly 2,000.
The Tar Heels (15-2, 7-0 ACC) started off slow, dropping the first set due to a weak offensive showing. The Fighting Irish’s (15-4, 6-1 ACC) dominant defense held UNC posted a hitting percentage of just .098.
Anchored by senior Sheila Doyle, the Tar Heels came out in the second and third sets with a new mentality and defensive strategy. Key kills by freshman Julia Scoles and redshirt senior Taylor Treacy allowed UNC to maintain the lead through both sets.
But the momentum was short-lived. The fourth set saw seven lead changes and nine ties, with the Fighting Irish ultimately securing the win and forcing the match to go to a fifth set.
After getting off to a 6-1 start in the fifth set, UNC let Notre Dame back in to tie the score 6-6. With the score tied at 13-13, two kills by redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath secured the 15-13 victory for the Tar Heels.
The match was a defensive clinic. The Fighting Irish put up 95 total digs, the most of any team this season against the Tar Heels’ dominant offensive unit. Not to be outdone, UNC totaled 107 digs during the match, the highest in the program's past five years.
