.png&width=36&height=36&type=webp)
University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Tar Heels' Rally Falls Short
October 27, 2006 | Volleyball
Oct. 27, 2006
CHAPEL HILL --- Brianna Eskola had a career-high 39 digs and Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland hit a career-high .538, but North Carolina fell to Virginia, 30-28, 30-25, 28-30, 21-30, 15-13, Friday night at Carmichael Auditorium. Megan Owens added a career-high 20 kills for the Tar Heels (6-16, 4-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), while Sarah Kirkwood had 17 kills and 32 digs to lead the Cavaliers (16-6, 9-4 ACC).
Game one was practically dead even from start to finish. The frame featured 17 ties and six lead changes, with neither team leading by more than three at any point. A service error and a Heather Brooks kill gave Carolina a 27-26 lead, forcing Virginia to use its final timeout. After a side out and a Kirkwood kill, UNC used its first timeout with the Cavaliers leading 28-27. Two side outs followed, and Carolina called one last timeout facing game point at 29-28. The Tar Heels had a swing to tie it, but Owens' attack sailed long to end it, 30-28.
After more back-and-forth play to open game two, Virginia finally put together a sustained run to build a lead. With the score tied at 9, the Wahoos won seven of eight points to move ahead 16-10 and force a timeout. Carolina would respond with a 5-1 run to cut the gap to two at 17-15, but the Tar Heels would get no closer. UVa weathered a late 4-0 run that made it 25-22 and pulled away for a 30-25 win.
After dropping the first two points of game three, Carolina stormed back with a 10-1 spurt that forced Virginia to burn both of its timeouts. Owens and Hanson-Tuntland were the key figures in the run, as the pair accounted for five of the 10 points. From there, the two squads traded runs. Virginia won five of six to make it 11-8, only to see UNC win seven straight to push the lead out to 10. UVa countered with runs of 6-2 and 9-2, eventually getting all the way back to even at 28. But Amy Beaver delivered three key kills in the late stages, and a Stephanie Jansma block gave the Tar Heels the game, 30-28.
Carolina used three services aces to build a quick working lead at 5-2. That margin would grow to as much as seven at 17-10 before Virginia began to storm back. A 9-3 run, punctuated by a Cavalier block, cut the Tar Heel lead to one at 20-19. But the UNC offense was at its best in the closing moments, and Carolina won 10 of the final 12 points to even the match with a 30-21 win.
The Tar Heels struggled to maintain the momentum of game four, and Virginia took advantage of that to build an 8-3 lead at the changeover. But Lauren Prussing helped pull Carolina back into the game. Prussing put down three kills and two blocks to make it 13-12. But after a pair of side outs, UVa converted its second match point for a 15-13 win.
Beaver led all players with eight blocks, while Ashley Board contributed a career-high 21 digs. Jansma had 59 assists, 20 digs and four blocks, and Hanson-Tuntland had a career-best 15 kills against just one error.
Next up for Carolina is a Nov. 1 meeting with Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m.
