Be present.
According to head coach Joe Sagula, that’s the motto for the North Carolina volleyball team.
The Tar Heels are no strangers to being down two sets to none in a match. In fact, that’s when they tend to perform their best.
However, on Friday night in Tallahassee, UNC (10-9, 7-4 ACC) did not have enough power to overcome Florida State (12-7, 6-5 ACC).
“We have been struggling with that type of start all season,” Sagula said. “We didn’t live up to our motto tonight.”
From the start, things did not look good for the Tar Heels after being down 6-0 in the first set. The first sign of life for UNC came from a kill by middle hitter Katharine Esterley to halt the Seminoles' 6-0 run.
The closest that UNC came to catching back up to FSU in that first set occurred when the team was down by three points — when the score sat at 9-6. North Carolina would go on to only score five more points for the remainder of the first set as the Seminoles dominated in an 11-25 win.
In the second set, the Tar Heels took its first lead of the match when outside hitter Taylor Leath tallied a kill to make the score 17-16. The UNC lead would not last long, though. Following a bad set by Leath, Florida State regained the upper hand with a score of 21-20 and did not relinquish its lead in its 25-22 second set win.
The best play of the night for the Tar Heels came in the third set.
