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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NC State
Tar Heel Volleyball Holds On To Defeat N.C. State In Five Games
October 13, 1999 | Volleyball
Oct. 12, 1999
Raleigh, N.C. - The North Carolina volleyball team showed fight and determination in a five game victory (15-10, 15-17, 5-15, 15-6, 15-9) over rival N.C. State Tuesday at Reynolds Coliseum. Playing the match without starting setter Eve Rackham, due to a sprained ankle, Carolina bounced back from a 2-1 deficit to win its 13th-consecutive match and increase its record to 15-3, 7-0 in the ACC.
Casey Simpson led the Tar Heels with 18 kills and ten digs and senior Asa Gustavsson was just behind her, with 17 kills and ten digs. Kathy Konczal stepped in for Rackham and tallied 62 assists. UNC also got a big night from their freshmen. Laura Greene recorded nine kills, ten digs, four blocks and a .389 hitting percentage, while Malaika Underwood put away four of her five attempts with no errors for a .800 hitting percentage.
Carolina came out quickly in game one, jumping out to a 14-5 lead. The Wolfpack made the game close with a 5-0 run, but the Tar Heels won the final point to secure the game and a 1-0 lead.
Game two was probably the game of the night, as the teams battled to an 8-8 tie. From that point, N.C. State went on a 6-1 run for a 14-9 lead. After facing down game point on multiple occasions, UNC worked all the way back to a 15-14 lead. However, it was N.C. State that would string together a 3-0 run and take the game 17-15.
Game three belonged to the Wolfpack. N.C. State opened with a 5-0 run that extended to a 9-1 lead and Carolina could not recover. 15-5 was the score as the Wolfpack took a 2-1 game lead on UNC.
Game four was just the opposite of game three, as the Tar Heels showed great fight by responding to the N.C. State win with an 11-1 run to open the game. Like Carolina in the previous game, N.C. State could not recover and the Heels won game four 15-6 and forced a rally-scored fifth game.
Game five opened tied at two, but UNC won the next three points for a 5-2 lead and then never trailed. UNC built an 11-5 lead and went on to win the game 15-9 for its 13th-consecutive win.
N.C. State was led by a trio of sophomores. Alison Kreager paced the Wolfpack with 26 kills and ten digs, while Charece Williams recorded 22 kills and 12 digs, and setter Erin Vesey tallied 79 assists. Freshman Tara Greene had 16 kills and a game-high 24 digs.
