University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
North Carolina Falls To #5 Georgia Tech
September 28, 2003 | Volleyball
Sept. 28, 2003
Chapel Hill, N.C. - North Carolina lost to fifth-ranked Georgia Tech 30-21, 30-16, 30-23. The Tar Heels fall to 10-5 on the season after the 3-0 loss. Junior outside hitter Molly Pyles led the Tar Heels with 17 kills and 13 digs.
"It was a quite a disappointment to see a lot of the team not really wanting it as much as some other parts of team," said Pyles. "In general, I think the team needed to come out with more passion."
Junior libero Caroline deRoeck had 11 digs and sophomore setter McKenzie Byrd led the Tar Heels with 27 assists. Sophomore outside hitter Dani Nyenhuis contributed seven kills and six digs, while senior middle hitter Aletha Green had five kills and one block solo.
"We certainly need to take some things from this game, and see that if we don't come out and show up, we are going to get our butts kicked," said Pyles. "We are going to take that and turn it into a positive this week."
UNC fell behind early and could never fight their way back. Georgia Tech kept the 860 Carmichael Auditorium fans quiet for most of the game. They had a 12-0 run in the second game that deflated the Tar Heels. UNC made a valiant effort in the third game as they kept within striking distance, but the Yellow Jackets pulled away at the end to win the game 30-23.
"This exposes things we need to work on," said head coach Joe Sagula. "I told our team,' if you think you were a good passer, we need to pass better. If you think you were a good hitter, we need to hit even better.' We need to have at least five people playing pretty well to be successful. Today, two people played well, Molly Pyles and Caroline deRoeck."
The loss ended North Carolina's 24-game home winning streak. UNC next heads to Davidson for their next match on Oct. 1.
