North Carolina
5-7, 2-2ACC
Georgia Tech
7-8, 2-2ACC
Tar Heels Fall To Yellow Jackets, 3-1
October 1, 2017 | Volleyball
ATLANTA – A season-high 14.5 blocks and nine aces were not enough on Sunday afternoon, as Georgia Tech outlasted North Carolina, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22). The Yellow Jackets excelled down the stretch, winning the final four points of the first set, final two after a 23-23 tie in the third and last three of the match after a 22-22 tie in the fourth. Both teams are now 2-2 to open ACC play, as Georgia Tech improves to 7-8 while UNC falls to 5-7.
Redshirt freshman Katharine Esterley powered North Carolina's dominant blocking unit, going up on 10 of UNC's 14.5 blocks. The rookie middle put up a team-high nine against Clemson on Friday night for a total of 19 on the weekend, an average of 2.4 per set. Taylor Fricano followed with six block assists and Beth Nordhorn tallied four.
Nordhorn led Carolina with 11 kills. The ACC leader in hitting percentage hit .300 despite a season-high five errors. Taylor Leath followed with 10 kills, while Holly Carlton put up seven. Fricano, who entered to play right side in the second set, tallied seven kills without an error to hit .538. Fricano replaced Sydnye Fields, who had three kills on five swings with two blocks.
Carlton directed the offense with 23 assists, while Kendra Koetter posted her first double-double as a Tar Heel with 13 assists and 10 digs. Libero Casey Jacobs recorded a match-high 21 digs, and Carlton and Sehrena Hull each had eight.
Both teams served tough, as Carolina landed a season-high nine aces, but allowed a season-high 12 to Georgia Tech. Carlton and Greer Moseman both had a career-high three aces, while Maddie Grace Hough had two and Hull served up one.
Blocks and aces dominated the first set, as both teams combined for seven blocks and seven aces to go with a total of 19 attack errors. Carolina won the first two points of the set, but GT fought back to pull ahead 3-2. The Tar Heels went back in front, 7-5, on a gutsy kill by Hull, but once again, GT took back the lead, 8-7. An ace by Hough made it 11-9 Carolina, and a Fields kill reinstated the two-point lead, 15-13, but it was all Georgia Tech down the stretch, as the Yellow Jackets pulled in front, 16-15, increased it to 21-17, then won the final four points of the set to win the first, 25-19.
And 8-0 run early in the second set gave Carolina a daunting 11-4 lead. Georgia Tech won four straight to cut the deficit to four, but the Heels replied with four of their own to go up, 17-9. The Yellow Jackets would not go quietly, pulling all the way back to within three, 23-20, but a kill by Fricano secured the set for UNC, 25-21.
North Carolina had a small lead for the majority of the third set, but a 4-0 Georgia Tech run flipped a 19-17 UNC advantage to a 21-19 Yellow Jacket lead. A kill and a block by Fricano tied the score at 21, then an attack error put UNC back in front, 22-21. A UNC error put GT on top, but a kill by Hull knotted the score at 23. In a first-to-two battle, the Yellow Jackets prevailed, winning the next two points to take the third set, 25-23, and push ahead 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set was much like the third with 13 tie scores and five lead changes. Carolina led 15-13, but Georgia Tech forced back 18-16. A 3-0 run capped by an Esterley-Fricano block tied the score at 20, and a Fricano kill made it 21-21. An attack error by Cori Clifton once again knotted the score at 22, but Clifton followed with a kill, then two straight by Kodie Comby sealed the match for the Yellow Jackets with a 25-22 win in the fourth and a 3-1 match victory.
North Carolina returns to Carmichael Arena on Friday, Oct. 6, to host rival Duke in conference play. Wear your "Better Blue" for a Carolina Blue Out which begins at 6:30 p.m.
