Virginia Rides Balanced Attack to Sweep of North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – For the first time since 2008, Virginia (6-12, 2-6 ACC) knocked off North Carolina (5-12, 1-7 ACC) with a 25-16, 25-12, 25-22 victory on Sunday (Oct. 14) afternoon at Carmichael Arena.
 
Five Cavaliers finished the match with over five kills, led by Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.). The sophomore floored 12 kills and hit a career-best .500 in the victory. Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) added eight kills and four blocks in her best performance in the past eight matches.  
 
Virginia finished the day hitting .330 as a team, the Cavaliers’ highest percentage since hitting .360 in a victory over George Mason on September 8. It also marks the first time Virginia has hit over .300 against an ACC opponent since November 11, 2016.
 
SET 1: Virginia 25, North Carolina 16
Virginia used a 4-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 12-10 lead in the middle of the opening set. The Cavaliers then capitalized on a UNC error with a Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.) ace to take a 15-11 advantage at the media timeout.
 
Another Virginia ace, this one from Alex Spencer (North Canton, Ohio), keyed a 4-0 scoring run to push the Cavalier lead to 20-15. Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) would add to the parade of aces in the set for Virginia, highlighting a 5-0 run to close the set.
 
SET 2: Virginia 25, North Carolina 12
Virginia raced out to an 8-2 advantage behind a trio of early blocks. Anukwuem and Christine Jarman (Boynton Beach, Fla.) each had a pair of block assists in the early run.
 
Billiard also came alive in the set, knocking down seven kills to spark Virginia to a .500 hitting percentage in the frame. The 25-12 margin marked the largest for the Cavaliers in an ACC match since 2015.
 
SET 3: Virginia 25, North Carolina 22
After committing just six errors in the first two sets combined, Virginia committed five in the early going of set three to help North Carolina build a 14-7 advantage. The Cavaliers responded quickly, reeling off a 7-0 scoring run behind the serve of Wineholt, including a pair of aces, to level the set.
 
The run extended to an 11-2 streak, giving the Cavaliers an 18-16 lead. A Grace Turner (Cincinnati, Ohio) kill gave Virginia its largest lead of the frame at 23-19 before the Cavaliers saw out the sweep with a 25-22 victory.
 
QUICK HITS
• The victory snapped a streak of 15-straight losses to North Carolina. It comes nearly 10 years to the day (Oct. 10, 2008) after the Cavaliers’ last win against the Tar Heels.
• Jarman had a season-best six kills and 10 digs in the win.
• Spencer, making her first start at libero in 2018, led the match with 12 digs.
• Virginia held UNC to .101 hitting, the lowest by an ACC opponent this season.
• The sweep is just the fourth for Virginia over North Carolina in program history.

UP NEXT
Virginia returns home to Memorial Gymnasium to host No. 22 Louisville and Notre Dame next Friday (Oct. 19) and Sunday (Oct. 21), respectively.