Virginia Drops Road Finale At No. 25 North Carolina, 3-1

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In the final road match of the regular season, the Virginia volleyball team (21-9, 11-8 ACC) fell 3-1 (19-25, 5-25, 25-20, 16-25) to the No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels (21-7, 13-6 ACC) on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 27) at Carmichael Arena.

Elayna Duprey paced the Cavalier offense on the day with 11 kills, while the duo of Abby Tadder and Lauryn Bowie each had nine kills of their own. Defensively, Milan Gomillion had a match-high 19 digs.

UVA’s senior tandem of Abby Tadder and Brooklyn Borum teamed up for Virginia’s lone block of the match in the fourth set. The block assist gave Tadder 406 total blocks in her storied Cavalier career, passing Jessica O’Shoney for ninth most all-time in program history.

North Carolina’s Mabrey Shaffmaster led all participants with 16 kills on the afternoon. Alexis Engelbrecht for the Tar Heels had a match-best four blocks.

  HOW IT HAPPENED   

Set 1: North Carolina 25, Virginia 19

In the opening set, the two squads battled to a 4-4 tie before the Tar Heels took control with a 5-1 run to make it 9-5. Following a Duprey kill that made it a two-point set at 10-8, North Carolina tallied seven of the next eight points to gain a 17-9 advantage. A late-set surge by the Cavaliers that got UVA back to within five was turned away when North Carolina took the set on a Cavalier attack error.

Set 2: North Carolina 25, Virginia 5

North Carolina scored the first 14 points of the set and led by as many as 18 at 20-2 before Bowie collected her lone kill of the set.  The Cavaliers nabbed back-to-back kills from Kadynce Booth and Tadder before UNC’s Safi Hampton sealed the set for the Tar Heels with a kill.

Set 3: Virginia 25, North Carolina 20

After the Cavaliers fell behind at 6-4, Virginia grabbed 10 of the next 13 points to sprint to a 15-9 lead. Following the big UVA run, the two teams traded points as the Hoos attempted to keep the Tar Heel comeback at bay. A North Carolina service error and a Brooklyn Borum set point kill put the set away for the Cavaliers.

Set 4: North Carolina 25, Virginia 16

The Tar Heels opened the fourth and final set by building an 11-5 lead that forced a Virginia timeout. Out of the time out, the Cavaliers nabbed three of the next four points to make it a 12-8 contest. After the small run by Virginia run, North Carolina kept adding to its lead until a 3-0 run that made it 24-14 put the set out of reach. The Cavaliers, led by Brooklyn Borum,  mounted a late push that was ultimately thwarted when North Carolina’s Shaffmaster landed a kill to give the Tar Heels a victory.

GAME NOTES

• Abby Tadder collected her 406th career block in the fourth set and now ranks ninth all-time in total blocks, surpassing Jessica O’Shoney.
• With the win, the Tar Heels improved to 57-16 in the all-time series against UVA and have six-straight in the series that dates back to 1980.

UP NEXT  
The Cavaliers will close out the regular season on Saturday (Nov. 30) by hosting the Boston College Eagles at 1 p.m. inside Memorial Gymnasium. The match can be streamed on ACCNX.