Despite a lackluster. 239 hitting percentage, the Tar Heels posted 19 kills to Duke’s 11 and held the Blue Devils to just a. 119 hitting percentage. On Saturday, North Carolina (11-1, 8-0) returned the favor by defeating the Pack in flamboyant fashion 45-34.
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After sitting out the first six games of the season, veteran point guard and preseason all-american Marcus Paige will make his return for the top-ten North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday night against No. 2 Maryland.
But more generally, Paige will change the focus of opposing teams’ game plans, which means his teammates should all have a little more freedom to operate, and thus become more efficient players in their own right.
The Tar Heels tried to crawl back in the fourth set. The team, as it now stands, has shown flashes where it has played at a really high level, but that’s the problem… they’ve been flashes. And as they did all season, the Tar Heels didn’t falter in their pursuit of either.
But any chance of that happening will be squashed with a loss against the Wolfpack (7-4, 3-4 ACC). A few plays later it was 7-0.
The North Carolina Tar Heels look for a statement win after a shaky 5-1 start to the year.
“They’re definitely an explosive offense but we’re definitely a new defense, as well”, Schoettmer said.
Duke (6-5, 3-4) at Wake Forest (3-8, 1-6), 12:30 p.m. (WJXT): The Blue Devils are desperate to snap a four-game losing streak in which they have given up an average of 42 points per game and committed 10 turnovers.
The biggest difference was running back Elijah Hood, who after carrying only once against State a season ago, punished it for 220 yards and two touchdowns on 21 rushing attempts on Saturday.
Shakeel Rashad, North Carolina’s senior linebacker, was talking on Monday about what the Tar Heels need to do defensively against Clemson in the ACC Championship game, going down the list of checkpoints before UNC’s sternest defensive challenge of the season.
Watson has run for 756 yards and nine touchdowns and passed for 3,223 yards with 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
In short, under Chizik, who was head coach of 2010 national champion Auburn, they’ve come a long way since the first play vs. Clemson when receiver Germone Hopper was wide open for an easy 74-yard touchdown to open the floodgates.
A week after achieving the first, UNC had an opportunity to accomplish the second against N.C. State.
Classmate Brice Johnson has enjoyed his time at North Carolina, but there have been obstacles. However, all too often when teams diagnose it, and figure out how to stop those plays, the offensive team is rendered helpless.
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“I’ve been saying it all year: this team’s got a lot of grit”, Fedora said.
