UNC (18-11) won the match 26-24, 25-22 and 25-14 to advance to the second round of the 32-team postseason tournament. UNC will play Mountain West member Wyoming (21-9) at 6 p.m. Friday. Wyoming advanced to the second round Thursday afternoon with a 3-1 win over South Dakota also at Bank of Colorado Arena.
“We knew this was going to be a big match and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t any bigger than it needed to be,” second-year Eagles coach Jon Haruguchi said. “Play where our feet are and play together.”
“We’re bouncing back a little bit better than we were earlier in the season," UNC coach Lyndsey Oates said. "We’re handling our emotions a little bit better than we were earlier in the season.”