Each player on LSU’s bench stood with her arms wrapped around a teammate’s waist during every timeout of Friday’s volleyball match in Carmichael Arena.
Giving seats to active players may have been the motive, but on this particular night, the setup may have also served as a sound barrier against the North Carolina fans in attendance.
Yet the defensive wall was not enough to secure the Tigers a victory.
UNC took a 3-0 victory (18-25, 19-25, 14-25) in a terse hour and 17 minutes in front of a crowd of 2,807 people in its home opener.
Members of Carolina Fever filled the bleachers behind both team’s benches while youth volleyball players, parents, friends and alumni — including last season’s libero Kaylie Gibson — filled the rest of the arena.
The North Carolina pep band and UNC cheerleaders added the final touch to the game environment.
“This is the first time, but I’m going to disagree with the 2,807,” coach Joe Sagula said. “I felt like there must have been at least a thousand in Carolina Fever, and they weren’t half of the crowd. Not only was the crowd a large number, but they were into it. That was the largest and most into-it crowd we’ve had.”
Not to be ignored was a group of about 20 Tar Heel varsity athletes from the men’s swim team, softball team and the women’s tennis team who painted up to support their peers.
The breakout moment for this corner of fans came during the second set when North Carolina freshman Paige Neuenfeldt scored on a kill to give her team a 20-15 lead and six of UNC’s swimmers stripped to their uniforms.
The speedo-clad clan then made its appearance on the ESPN camera that filmed the game for the network and broadcasted over Carmichael’s jumbotron. And the group continually led the entire crowd in Tar Heel chants and cheers.
Neuenfeldt contributed a total of eight points, sophomore Chaniel Nelson added 8.5 and senior Emily McGee had 14 on the night to contribute the team’s .293 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Ece Taner, who led the team with 14 digs, felt the crowd was a contributing factor to the team’s performance.
“Coach always tells us to go 100 percent out there throughout the entire game, but the crowd really, really helped us a lot today,” she said.
North Carolina will continue play Saturday at 12 p.m. against Western Michigan and then at 7:30 p.m. against East Tennessee State.
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