University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
Tar Heels Break Losing Streak, Drop Tigers in Four
October 22, 2004 | Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina volleyball halted a three-match losing streak by defeating the Clemson Tigers in four games Friday night, 30-19, 30-18, 28-30, 30-21. It was a career night for a pair of Tar Heel defensive specialists, as senior libero Caroline deRoeck and junior Taylor Rayfield each set career marks in digs with 33 and 17, respectively. Junior Dani Nyenhuis led the offensive attack with 22 kills and 15 digs, and senior Molly Pyles added 20 and 17.
Carolina (12-10, 7-3 ACC) took control of game one early with a 10-3 run that turned a 7-7 tie into a 17-10 Tar Heel advantage. Clemson (13-9, 4-5 ACC) would get no closer than five and UNC rolled to a 30-19 win. The Tigers struggled offensively, as 10 hitting errors prevented them from mounting much of a rally. Carolina hit .316 for the game and outblocked Clemson four to zero, as senior Katie Wright led the way with two solos and a block assist.
The Tar Heels kept it going in game two, putting together a very efficient 30-18 win to take a two games to none advantage. UNC outhit the Tigers .356 to -.023 and dominated play on both sides of the net. Freshman Brittany Randel played some of the best volleyball of her young career in game two, recording three kills on six kills and three block assists. With the score 16-13 midway through the game, Randel contributed two straight kills then teamed up with Emily Guerry on a block to give Carolina a six-point advantage it would not relinquish. Randel finished with a career-best eight kills and five block assists.
UNC got off to a sloppy start to game three and was never able to overcome an early deficit, as Clemson took the game, 30-28. The Tigers opened up their largest lead of the evening at 8-3 and forced a Carolina timeout. Clemson would push the lead to seven before the Tar Heels started to climb back. Four Pyles kills in five points cut the margin to two at 22-20, and a later kill cut it to one at 29-28. But the Tar Heels could never even the score, and the Tigers made it two games to one.
Carolina picked it up again in the fourth game and cruised to a 30-21 win to take the match, 3-1. Nyenhuis and Pyles had 11 of the team's 12 kills in the frame and the Tar Heel defensive effort held the Tigers to a hitting percentage of .021 for the game, and .076 for the match.
The Tar Heels now prepare for a huge conference showdown Saturday night, as they host league-leading Georgia Tech at 6 p.m.
