Virginia Falls to Hot-Hitting UNC

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (9-12, 1-7 ACC) was unable to slow North Carolina (8-10, 5-3 ACC) as the Tar Heels hit .374 in attack to sweep the Cavaliers 26-24, 25-19, 25-22 on Sunday (Oct. 20) in Memorial Gymnasium.
 
Freshman Jayna Francis (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the Cavaliers with 10 kills on the day. She also hit .348, her best hitting percentage in an ACC match. Junior Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) added nine kills while senior Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added eight for Virginia.
 
North Carolina was paced by Skylar Wine who produced a match-high 13 terminations. Lauren Harrison chipped in another 12 kills for the Tar Heels.
 
SET 1: UNC 26-24
Virginia jumped all over North Carolina to open the match, building a 17-10 lead. Novakovic had back-to-back service aces to cap a 3-0 run for the Cavaliers which built the seven-point lead. Virginia would maintain the advantage to 19-12 after a Mattison Matthews (Charleston, S.C.) kill but North Carolina came charging back.
 
UNC used a 7-1 run to close within a single point. Harrison had back-to-back kills to close the stretch for the Tar Heels. Virginia regrouped and reached set point at 24-23, but three-straight kills from Wine completed the UNC comeback.
 
SET 2: UNC 25-19
North Carolina carried its momentum from the big comeback into the second set, hitting .394 in the frame with 16 kills. UNC jumped to a 9-5 lead early in the set before Virginia battled back. The Cavaliers used a 3-0 run to close within a single point at 10-9 on a Francis termination.
 
UNC, however, had an answer with a 9-3 run to extend its advantage to 20-13. Virginia would get no closer than six the rest of the way in the set.
 
SET 3: UNC 25-22
Another quick start saw the Tar Heels leap to a 14-9 edge before Virginia mounted a comeback effort. Francis was 4-for-8 in attack in the set, helping UVA climb within two at 21-19. UNC was able to stem the momentum and keep Virginia at arms length through the final few points before Wine closed the match with her 13th kill.
 
QUICK HITS
• Novakovic fired off three aces to bring her season total to 38.
• Freshman Simone Dominique (San Marino, Calif.) made her first career start and recorded two kills and four digs.
• Middle blocker Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) had six kills while hitting .667 and added three blocks and an ace.
 
UP NEXT
Virginia heads to Louisville and Notre Dame for a pair of ACC contests over the next week.