Sept. 21, 2009

No. 19 FSU Prevails in Thriller
After sweeping its opponent in six of the last seven matches, the No. 19 Florida State volleyball flexed its come-from-behind muscle Sunday against Notre Dame in the conclusion of the Seminole Tri-Tournament.

Down 2-1, FSU (10-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) managed to bounce back and escape with a thrilling 3-2 win (19-25, 25-17, 18-25, 26-24, 16-15) over a Fighting Irish (6-4) team that defeated Miami in five sets one day earlier.

With the win, the Seminoles are now off to their best start since the 1997 season when that team started 12-0 and with eight-straight victories boast the longest winning streak since the 2000 campaign.

Eagles Defeat Heels 3-1
The North Carolina volleyball team dropped its fourth straight match Sunday to the American Eagles 3-1 at Bender Arena. The Heels fall to 4-7 on the year, while the Eagles improve to 4-7. Carolina dropped the first set 25-22, won the second frame 25-15, but dropped the last two 25-21 and 25-23. The Tar Heels were paced by Suzanne Haydel, who posted a career best 20 kills and .500 hitting percentage with eight digs. Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland added 10 kills and Heather Brooks added six blocks in the loss.

The first set featured seven tie scores and four lead changes before the Eagles won 25-22. The score was knotted at 21 when the Eagles took advantage of two Carolina attack errors to claim the set 25-22. The Tar Heels notched 16 kills in the first set, but added 10 attack errors to register an .146 hitting percentage.

Carolina turned out its best effort of the match in the second frame. The Heels won the set 25-15 taking advantage of American's 10 attack errors and -.034 hitting percentage. The Tar Heels led 10-9 then went on a 15-6 run to win the match behind Haydel and Branagan Fuller's attack. Despite winning the set, Carolina only posted six kills in the second frame.