The North Carolina volleyball team (5-12, 1-7 ACC) was defeated in straight sets at home on Sunday afternoon against Virginia (6-12, 2-6 ACC). The match dropped UNC below Virginia to last place in the ACC.
What happened?
The Tar Heels didn’t put up much of a fight in this contest, with Virginia easily coming out on top, 3-0. North Carolina hit at a .101 clip for the match, only had 29 kills, and committed 19 errors. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers hit .330, had 43 kills, and only had 12 errors.
The first set ended with a final score of 25-16, and the second set was a more dominant defeat, ending 25-12. In the third set, North Carolina showed signs of life by going up 14-7, but the momentum quickly dissipated as the Cavaliers went on a seven-point run and continued to ride that wave to a final score of 25-22.
The story of the day was hitting woes for North Carolina. It could not get anything going on offense. Its leading hitter, first-year Hadden LaGarde, had six kills, but everyone else had a hitting percentage of .250 or less.
When was it decided?
This contest was decided early on. Virginia continuously struck first and never let up. The normally potent North Carolina offense was held in check and never could string together long runs of points.
The match was all but over when the Tar Heels fell behind two sets to none. The hitting struggles were too much to overcome.
