The North Carolina volleyball team fell to Michigan State in three straight sets on Sunday in East Lansing, Michigan, marking UNC’s third loss in a row this season.
What happened?
North Carolina (1-6) fought hard against Michigan State (6-1) but a few late mistakes hurt the Tar Heels and sent them home after three sets, 25-21, 25-21 and 25-13.
The opening two sets were very close, with a total of 16 ties and 10 lead changes between the two teams.
"The first two sets were the quality of play I want for us in terms of taking really good swings offensively, making really good digs and being in it," head coach Joe Sagula said. "We were in both sets for a long time until they got a two or three point run and that was the difference."
After both teams were able to make significant offensive runs, the Tar Heels tied the score at 19 in the first set. But an older, more experienced MSU team proved to be too much as the Spartans overpowered North Carolina to secure the set.
"I felt like we were able to sustain a high level of play for a much longer period of time versus a high quality team," Sagula said. "So those takeaways make us feel like we’re moving in the right direction."
However, the third set was when UNC ran out of gas, which led to three runs of four or more unanswered points for the Spartans. Michigan State made sure to capitalize on all the mistakes and put the game away with a 25-13 victory in the final set.
Despite the loss, Sagula was not disappointed with the effort he saw from his team.
