Box Score

UNC 3, VT 1

 

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech volleyball team dropped a 1-3 (24-30, 30-22, 28-30, 27-30) match to the North Carolina Tar Heels Friday evening in Cassell Coliseum. The loss marks only the second time this season the Hokies have lost at home.

Freshman Felicia Willoughby led Tech with a career-high 16 kills and nine blocks. Senior Amanda Cloyd collected 20 digs, while sophomore Michelle Lang dished out 54 assists with six blocks.

Junior Sarah Muñoz collected her third double-double this season with 11 kills and a season-high 12 digs. Sophomores Taylor Parrish and Betsy Horowitz knocked down 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while Jill Gergen collected 17 digs.

For North Carolina, Brianna Eskola led the defense with 34 digs, while Ashley Board chipped in 12. Christine Vaughen tallied 15 kills and seven blocks, while Lauren Prussing and Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland knocked down 13 kills each. Stephanie Jansma handed out 58 assists.

Despite jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the opening frame, the Tar Heels put together two three-point runs to come back and even the score at 10. From there, the two squads traded serves, keeping the game tied at every point up until another three-point run of North Carolina's put the Tar Heels up 23-21. UNC extended it's lead to four before Tech called a timeout at 26-22, but the lead was too much for the Hokies to overcome as the Tar Heels held on for a 30-24 win.

The Hokies used a five-point run midway through game two to force a North Carolina timeout at 15-9, and never looked back. Tech extended its lead to eight at 22-14 and fought off a five-point run of the Tar Heels', en route to a 30-22 victory.

In a back-and-forth battle late in game three, Tech called a timeout at 27-28 after a UNC block. Munoz knotted the score at 28, but Vaughen landed back-to-back kills, giving the Tar Heels a 30-28 game win, and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

North Carolina broke open an even 15-15 game four with a four-point run, forcing a Tech timeout at 19-15. The Hokies rallied to close the gap to two, forcing a Tar Heel timeout at 24-26, but couldn't come any closer as UNC went on to win the match 30-27.

Tech will close-out its five-match homestand tomorrow, Sat., Oct. 13, playing host to NC State at 6 p.m.