Weekend sports roundup: Softball gets swept, men's soccer gets upset and more

With several of North Carolina's fall sports teams adding spring seasons to their 2020-2021 schedules, The Daily Tar Heel will be recapping some of the action from this spring's busy weekends in roundups for some events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Volleyball: Louisville 3, UNC 0 (Friday)

UNC traveled to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on the No. 13 Louisville —  the ACC champions —  on Friday. The match was the final leg of the Tar Heels’ toughest stretch of the season, coming after consecutive games against No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 25 Florida State. 

Both teams went back-and-forth early in the first set, but once the score was tied at 6, the Cardinals ran away with the rest of the set. An early block by junior Amanda Phegley and an ace by sophomore Parker Austin allowed UNC to come within two points of Louisville, but the Cardinals clinched the set with a 25-15 win. 

The Tar Heels came into the second set with renewed energy. After trading the first ten points with the Cardinals, senior Emily Zinger gave UNC a much needed spark with a kill. UNC then brought pressure from the service line with aces by sophomore libero Karenna Wurl and junior setter Annabelle Archer. Despite this momentum, both teams were squared at 23. Eventually, Louisville pulled through and won the set, 28-26.

UNC took an early 7-1 lead in the third set and was able to gain momentum with a solid double block from senior middle blocker Aristea Tontai and first-year hitter Kaya Merkler. However, Louisville gained energy and tied the match at 12. After a 7-1 run by the Cardinals, the Tar Heels were unable to come back, and UNC fell to the reigning champions, 25-18.

Karlie Nielson, staff writer

Men's soccer: Virginia Tech 1, UNC 0 (Friday)

The No. 15 North Carolina men’s soccer team (6-4-3, 6-2-3 ACC) lost to Virginia Tech (5-6-2, 4-5-2), 1-0, on Senior Night at Dorrance Field on Friday.

UNC outshot Virginia Tech 4-1 in the first period, but the score remained tied at zero at the end of the frame. The Hokies drew first blood in the second half, when senior Kristo Strickler scored a goal in the 52nd minute.

The Tar Heels racked up nine shots in the second half with six coming on goal, but were still unable to find the back of the net. Senior Santiago Herrera led the offense with six shots in the final home game of his career.

The loss was UNC’s first to an ACC opponent since spring play began. Even after the loss, the Tar Heels still lead the ACC’s Coastal Division with wins against Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Notre Dame. They end their spring season with a match against Duke in Durham next Saturday.

Lucas Thomae, staff writer

Softball: Swept by No. 18 Clemson (Thursday-Saturday)

The North Carolina softball team was swept by No. 18 Clemson this weekend. 

The weekend began with a 1-4 loss in the series opener on Thursday. Clemson established an early lead, and the Tar Heels managed to tie the game at one point. However, they never took the lead and ultimately fell to the Tigers.

The Tar Heels also lost in both games on Friday’s doubleheader. Clemson scored two runs in the first inning of game one, followed by three scoreless innings for both teams. But the Tigers offensive prowess came back in the fifth and sixth innings, bringing the final score to 6-1, Clemson. 

The five-inning second game brought three scoreless innings for the Tar Heels before they managed to score their first and only run in the fourth. Clemson dominated this game, racking up a total of 12 runs, to take the 12-1 victory. 

North Carolina finished the series with another loss on Saturday. The Tar Heels started the game with five innings scoring no runs, before scoring one in the sixth. The Tigers dominated in the third, fourth, and sixth innings, scoring a total of nine to bring them to their fourth victory for the weekend and completing the series sweep. 

Annie Gibson, staff writer

Volleyball: Miami 3, UNC 0 (Saturday)

The North Carolina volleyball team lost in straight sets in their regular season finale at Miami on Saturday.

Miami led for all of the first set, winning 25-19, then won the second by the same score on the back of a 11-2 Hurricanes run. The Tar Heels showed fight in the third set, which was much closer with ten tie scores. A kill by Tar Heel sophomore Parker Austin evened the score at 19-19, but a subsequent 3-0 run by Miami gave the Hurricanes the momentum to finish with a 25-21 victory

Miami dominated all areas of the court, ending the game with an advantage in kills, assists, aces, and blocks. First-year Kaya Merkler led the Tar Heels in kills with 12 and sophomore Karenna Wurl led all teams in digs with 13.

The loss was the Tar Heels’ fourth in a row and their third in straight sets. They've faced a gauntlet in the ACC, though, with four of their 10 conference games in spring play being against ranked opponents.

Lucas Thomae, staff writer

Women's tennis: UNC 6, N.C. State 1

The No. 1 UNC women's tennis team dominated over North Carolina State University with a 6-1 win as it celebrated Senior Day on Saturday, extending the team's winning streak to 38 dual matches, as well as 45 wins in a row at home.

The team started strong in doubles and continued the momentum throughout the game as senior Sara Daavettila and junior Cameron Morra defeated North Carolina State on court one. Senior Makenna Jones and sophomore Elizabeth Scotty came out with a win on court two, but N.C. State fought and defeated the Tar Heels on court three's match. 

No. 106 first-year Reilly Tran continued the hot pace as she posted the team’s first victory in singles on court six over the Wolfpack's Lexi Keberle.

No. 3 Daavettila continued her tear by defeating No. 5 Anna Rogers 7-5, 6-0. Despite being down, N.C. State did not give up, but No. 66 first-year Fiona Crawley solidified the Tar Heels’ win when she successfully defeated the Wolfpack's Abigail Rencheli on court five. 

The Tar Heels now head to Syracuse to take on the Orange on Friday, April 9 at 2 p.m.

Mikyla Williams, staff writer

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