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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
UNC Volleyball Finishes Regular Season With Sweep Of Cavaliers
November 13, 1999 | Volleyball
Nov. 13, 1999
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina volleyball team swept (15-11, 15-12, 15-13) the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday to close out the regular season with a 24-5 overall record, 14-2 in the ACC. The 14 conference wins is the most in a single season in school history, topping last season's mark of 13.
Carolina's three seniors all had exceptional matches on "Senior Night." Shannon Smith led the way with 15 kills and two errors on 29 attempts for a .448 hitting percentage. Smith also recorded six blocks, four of which were solos. Tori Seibert had 13 kills and finished the match without an error in 26 attempts for an even .500 percentage. Like Smith, Seibert also had a big night at the net with seven blocks, including two solos. Asa Gustavsson rounded out the trio of seniors by putting away 12 kills with only three errors on 27 attempts for a .333 percentage and added nine digs.
Casey Simpson, Eve Rackham and Kathy Konczal each recorded a match-high of 13 digs and Simpson added 12 kills, while Rackham tallied 55 assists for an average of 18.33 per game. All three games were close in the match. Game one was even at five before the Heels went on a 7-1 run to establish a 12-6 lead. With the lead 14-7, the Cavaliers made one last charge, pulling to within 14-11, however the Tar Heels were able to finish the game 15-11.
Carolina got off to a good start in game two by taking a 5-1 lead. The Cavaliers then answered with a 5-1 run of their own to tie the game at six. North Carolina got a little bit of breathing room by scoring three straight point for the 9-6 lead, however, again, Virginia answered. The Cavaliers were able to tie the game at ten and even took a brief 12-11 lead. The Tar Heels then gathered themselves, scored four unanswered points and won the game.
In game three, it was Virginia that took the 5-1 lead and then was able to hold its four-point lead at 9-5. UNC then won six straight points for an 11-9 lead. The game was tied two more times at 11 and 13, but the Tar Heels were able to secure the final two points and the match.
Jessica Parsons led the way for Virginia with 17 kills, seven digs and four blocks, while teammate Katie Jones recorded a team-high of 12 digs and matched that with 12 kills. Two other Cavaliers were in double figures in kills, Deanna Zwarich had 14 and Andrea Fischer had 12.
The Tar Heels out-hit Virginia .281 to .218 in the match and had seven fewer service errors, committing 12 to Virginia's 19. Carolina also had 13 team blocks to Virginia's six.
UNC will now travel to Orlando for the ACC Tournament, which will be played November 18th-21st. The Tar Heels enter the tournament as the number two seed and will play the winner of the number seven and eight seeds on Friday, November 19th.
