North Carolina volleyball coach Joe Sagula called Saturday afternoon’s victory against Western Michigan a strange match. But he called Saturday night’s win over Middle Tennessee State a team win.
Sagula said he started the match with younger players in an attempt to allow them to contribute not just when UNC takes big leads in games.
The Tar Heels opened up the match against Middle Tennessee State with strong killing boosted by veterans Kayla Berringer and Cora Harms as they each had three kills.
As the first set progressed, sophomore Lauren Adkins and senior Tia Gaffen kept the Tar Heels attacking offensively. Adkins finished the first set with four kills and Gaffen with five kills and two blocks, helping UNC glide to a 25-14 victory.
But Middle Tennessee State put up strong fights in the second and third sets as UNC’s momentum was stunted by sloppiness and a long hault in the game after a finger injury from Middle Tennessee State’s Chelsea Ross.
The second set saw several lead changes. Early kills from Berringer and Chaniel Nelson helped the team start out with a 4-3 lead, but consistent blocking and killing from Middle Tennessee State helped the Blue Raiders take a 7-9 lead as the set continued.
As Adkins and Gaffen along with Berringer and Harms stepped up, UNC went on 4-1 run to take an 11-10 lead. The Tar Heels never trailed again in the set but MTSU drew within a point at 22-21. Two kills from Kayla Berringer and an unreturned Cora Harms serve clenched the set for the Heels, 25-22.
UNC then squeaked out another win with a 25-23 victory over the Blue Raiders in the third set.
Freshman Victoria McPherson stepped up with four kills and Sagula said that in the third game, when the team needed a little bit of a lift, she was an early inspiration to her teammates.
North Carolina won the match 3-0, benefiting from the versatile play of several players. Adkins finished the night with twelve kills, Berringer with fourteen, and Gaffen with nine. Harms had 40 of the team’s 48 assists. Sagula also said he thought freshman Leigh Andrew left feeling like she made a contribution.
“We set the goal after last night’s win—it is going to be a team day and we need to make opportunities for everyone to contribute,” he said.
“And we did.”
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