Virginia Falls 3-0 at North Carolina
Oct. 14, 2017
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Virginia volleyball team (4-15, 0-8 ACC) fell 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-16) at North Carolina (9-7, 6-2 ACC) on Saturday afternoon in Carmichael Arena.
Junior Harley Sebastian (Atlanta, Ga.) led UVA with nine kills, while freshman Alex Spencer (Canton, Ohio) added seven kills on .357 hitting percentage and had six digs. Taylor Leath lead North Carolina with 10 kills.
Sophomore Jane Horner (Mission Viejo, Calif.) led UVA’s back line with 11 digs. Sophomore Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) had two blocks.
The teams traded points to begin the first set as Anukwuem put down a kill to tie the set 2-2. UNC used a 5-2 run to take a 7-4 advantage. The Cavaliers pulled within one, 7-6, on kills by redshirt sophomore Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) and Horner. The Tar Heels responded with a 3-0 run and later had a 5-0 run to lead UVA 17-9. A kill by Anukwuem halted the run as UVA made it 17-10. The Cavaliers trailed 22-10 after another run by UNC, when Spencer and sophomore Kiley Banker (West Lafayette, Ind.) landed kills to make it 22-12. North Carolina closed out the set to win 25-12.
Down 5-3, Virginia mounted a 3-0 run to lead 6-5 with kills by Sebastian and Banker along with an ace for sophomore Kelsey Miller (Crestwood, Ky.). UVA and UNC traded the lead several times. The Cavaliers were up 9-8 before a 6-1 run gave North Carolina a 14-10 edge. The Cavaliers scored two-straight on a kill by Sebastian and ace for sophomore Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) to cut it to 16-13. UNC scored five of the next seven points to lead 21-15 before two-straight points By the Cavaliers cut it to 21-17. Virginia held off two set points, but UNC took the second set 25-19.
Virginia was down early in the third set, 11-3. The Cavaliers started to close the gap and would use a 5-0 run to pull within two, 16-14. The run included kills by Young and Sebastian along with a block by Anukwuem and Novakovic as UNC called timeout. North Carolina countered with a 6-0 run and went on to take the set 25-16.
Virginia was out-hit by North Carolina, .402-.051. The Tar Heels led in blocks (10-3), digs (36-30) and aces (7-3).
Virginia will return home next weekend to host Duke on Friday, Oct. 20 and Wake Forest on Sunday, Oct. 22 in Memorial Gymnasium.