The North Carolina volleyball team took on Notre Dame on Friday night, losing 3-0. The loss dropped the Tar Heels to 4-6 on the season, and 0-1 in ACC play.
What happened?
The Fighting Irish (7-4, 1-0 ACC) took it to UNC (4-6, 0-1 ACC) early in the first set, jumping out to an 8-1 lead and forcing a timeout. The North Carolina squad looked rejuvenated following the timeout, scoring three straight points and closing the gap to 8-4. Despite the apparent life injected into UNC, Notre Dame answered with three points of its own to retake a seven-point lead that would only grow throughout the set.
Miscommunications and serving errors by North Carolina alongside some impressive digs by the Fighting Irish saw the Notre Dame lead balloon to 21-7, drawing another timeout from the Tar Heels. The teams would split the remaining points in the set, and Notre Dame secured a 25-11 victory for the set.
The second set was a much more competitive affair. First-year Destiny Cox got the Tar Heels going strong out of the gate, giving her team an important opening point. Neither team was able to build much of a lead for much of the set, with neither team owning a lead greater than two points before Notre Dame jumped ahead, 14-11.
The Tar Heels fought to stay in the set, winning an especially hard-fought point with a powerful kill by Cox and making the score 22-19 Notre Dame. The hole was just too big for North Carolina to dig out of however, and the Fighting Irish took the second set, 25-20.
Despite Notre Dame taking the first two points, the Tar Heels controlled the third set early. A run sparked by a block and kill from outside hitter Skylar Wine saw North Carolina take a 9-5 lead, its largest of the night. Notre Dame responded with five of the next six points to tie the set at 10. Here the back and forth play resumed, with neither team able to get breathing room. The teams would remain within two points of each other until Notre Dame put the set away, 25-22, securing the match victory.
Who stood out?
Despite being swept, there were a few bright spots for the Tar Heels. Cox continued her strong season with 12 kills and four digs. Senior Madison Laufenberg also had a standout game, with seven kills and only one error.
