Photo By Sam Whitlock.
UNC-Chapel Hill sophomore middle blocker Paige Neuenfeldt fires a kill between the hands of junior middle blocker Alesha Wilson. The Wolfpack fell to the Tar Heels in Reynolds Coliseum Wednesday night, 3-0.
In the volleyball team’s last home game of the 2013 season, N.C State fell to No. 14 UNC-Chapel Hill by a score of 3-0. The match marked the team’s second straight loss
The first match between these two teams had similar results, as the Tar Heels (25-3, 14-3 ACC) defeated the Wolfpack (20-9, 11-6 ACC) in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 25.
Entering the match, State had won nine of its last 10 at home, with its only loss coming to Virginia Tech on Saturday night. UNC-CH entered the match with a four-game winning streak.
Neither team moved in the ACC standings after Wednesday’s match. The Pack remained in fourth place, while UNC-CH maintained its position at second, two games behind rival and conference frontrunner No. 13 Duke.
The first set was dominated by the Heels as an early first set run allowed them to jump out to an 8-3 lead. Heels’sophomore outside hitter Leigh Andrew highlighted the run with two service aces. UNC-CH recorded nine service aces on the evening with seven service errors.
“We weren’t focusing on the server,” junior libero Alston Kearns said. “We were more concerned about how we were playing, and we weren’t locked in.”
From there, UNC-CH maintained its pace to finish the set, 25-17, leading at one time by as much as nine.
Blocking played a huge role in the Heels success in the first set. UNC-CH recorded four team blocks and held the Pack to a .098 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Brie Merriwether said that elevation was the best way to adjust to the Heels’ block.
“It was mostly about going high hands,” Merriwether said. “They’re a big team, and we’re not the biggest. Sometimes it’s nice to have a lot of hands in front of you because it makes it easy to tool. We just have to make sure that we swing high and cover our hitters.”
The second set didn’t look any better for the Pack. The Heels came out with as much ferocity as they did in the first set. Not only did UNC-CH block three more Pack kills, the team’s hitting percentage was an astounding .481, which was a stark comparison from the State’s ACC-best .158 opponent hitting percentage.
Momentum quickly shifted in the third set as the Pack ran out for a quick 6-2 lead. However, UNC-CH tied the game and retook the lead with a 13-11 lead, forcing State into a timeout. The remainder of the match was tightly-contested, but a few ball-handling errors on crucial rallies put the dagger in the Pack as it dropped the final set, 25-20.
“UNC is a really good defensive team,” Merriwether said. “In a long rally, they keep picking up the ball, and it’s hard for us to put it down.”
Defense for the Pack improved in the third as it held the Heels to .162 hitting percentage. Merriwether said that the improvement was a mix of adjustment and boosted energy.
“We started picking up our performance,” Merriwether said. “They didn’t do anything different, we just played better ourselves. We were going to fight. There was nothing else to lose. We were down 2-0.”
Setter controversy continued to plague the Pack. Sophomore setter Tanna Aljoe started the game but was replaced halfway through the second set by freshman setter Maggie Speaks. Aljoe totaled 13 assists and 4 digs, while Speaks recorded 17 assists and a service error. Neither players made a strong case for the starting role.
State closes its season with three straight road games with the first coming at Pittsburgh on Sunday. In terms of the team’s outlook for the remainder of the season, Merriwether said nothing has changed in terms of the team’s confidence.
“It shows that we need to play better,” Merriwether said. “It’s not an indication that we’re not a good team; it just tells us that we’re not playing to our potential.”