Despite trailing by five points in the fifth, and final, set of the match on Wednesday night in Raleigh, the UNC volleyball team pulled together and snatched a comeback victory 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 21-25, 15-12) over the rival NC State Wolfpack.

The win represented UNC’s first ACC and first five-set victory of the season, improving the Tar Heels to 4-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play. NC State, meanwhile, fell to 5-10 and 0-3 in the ACC.

Lauren Harrison led the Tar Heel offense with a team-high 21 kills, while Parker Austin was the other UNC player to reach double digits with 11. UNC also set a new team season-high with 19.5 blocks, the most the program has had in a single match since 2017.

The Tar Heels also won the hitting percentage battle, by posting a .220 mark compared to just .152 for the Wolfpack.

“We knew this was going to be a battle,” head coach Joe Sagula said afterwards. “NC State is scrappy and plays tough defense. They have some great hitters too. For us, the biggest turnaround for us was the three-straight blocks by Skyy Howard in the fifth set. To be down like we were and come back, unbelievable. It’s a credit to this team and that they stayed with it.”

Up Next:

UNC hosts Virginia Tech on Sunday for its first home game against an ACC opponent this season. That match is set to begin at 1 p.m.

 

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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