Syracuse Volleyball’s undefeated season ends in first ACC game with a straight-set loss to North Carolina

By Josh Solomon | @JoshSolo29

Chapel Hill, N.C. – In the late stages of the third set, Syracuse was up 22-20 over North Carolina with hopes of turning the game around. That false hope only lasted for a few minutes.

Early on, both teams seemed to be evenly matched, trading points halfway through the first set. But the Tar Heels were more resilient and that was shown with multiple scoring runs. North Carolina scored four of the last five points to close out the first set 25-14. This included seven of the final ten points. Leading UNC was sophomore Safi Hampton. The outside hitter totaled 11 kills and eight digs in the contest. Her effort, alongside redshirt sophomore Chelsea Thorpe’s eight kills and three blocks, were the main factors helping UNC get the win. It was just SU’s second time this season losing the first set through 13 games.

The second set looked even worse for the Orange. Syracuse looked sloppy, as the squad was unable to dig out most of North Carolina’s kill attempts. The Tar Heels went up 7-2 early in the second set and never looked back, eventually taking the set 25-9. Overall, SU’s hitting percentage was just over 10% in comparison to UNC’s 24%.

The Orange didn’t give up going into the third set. That set looked like the ‘Cuse’s strongest of the game. SU controlled the pace of play in the third set controlling a small lead which at most was a 19-16 margin late. The tides turned when UNC called its first timeout of the set with a two-point SU lead, 22-20. Whatever was said in that huddle led to a five-point run for the Tar Heels. Syracuse’s lead quickly vanished and it was a North Carolina 25-22 third set victory. UNC (9-1, 1-0 ACC) defeated SU (12-1, 0-1 ACC) in straight sets 3-0.

The Orange have an off day tomorrow before concluding its ACC weekend road trip in Durham. Syracuse faces off against Duke (5-7, 1-0 ACC) on Sunday at 1 inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.