Calling a timeout early in a set was uncharacteristic. But when the North Carolina volleyball team was trailing Coastal Carolina 6-1 in the second set of the NCAA Tournament second-round match, Sagula needed to do something to swing the momentum.
“I was just actually pretty calm and just told them we really need to focus on our passing,” Sagula said.
North Carolina dropped the prior set to the Chanticleers after failing to control the tempo of Saturday’s game. UNC had come out hitting hard serves, and Coastal Carolina swiftly responded.
Following the timeout, a kill by first-year Taylor Borup gave UNC the serve, and first-year Julia Scoles pressured the Chanticleers with it — allowing UNC to make a scoring run and cut the lead to 6-5. The Tar Heels continued the turnaround for a 25-19 win, taking the next two sets to defeat Coastal Carolina, 3-1, and advance to the Sweet 16.
Sagula said it was about getting his team into a rhythm and controlling the tempo. He said that came from playing clean — avoiding errors, balancing the court through passes and pressuring the Chanticleers (28-5) with serves.
“Once we do that, we’re going to be a tough team because we have so many weapons,” Sagula said.
Redshirt junior Taylor Fricano, who tallied eight kills and eight blocks for the Tar Heels (29-3) Saturday, said the serving helped her succeed in stifling Coastal Carolina at the net.
“It gave me the opportunity to see the court better and put them in a tougher position,” she said. “So blocking-wise, I have to give it to my servers because that — if you see numbers that are good blocking, it’s definitely because of the serving.”
