North Carolina
Arkansas
Carolina Falls To Arkansas In Three
August 26, 2006 | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2006
NORMAN, Okla. --- North Carolina suffered its first loss of the 2006 season Saturday afternoon, falling to Arkansas, 30-20, 30-27, 30-24, in the second game of the Sooner Legends Nike Invitational at Oklahoma's McCasland Field House. The Lady Razorbacks had four players reach double figures in kills en route to claiming the tournament title. Denitza Koleva led the way for Arkansas with 13 kills, 14 digs and six blocks. Bekah Brinkley led UNC with 10 kills, while Brianna Eskola had a team-high 15 digs. Amy Beaver hit .304 for the match, finishing with eight kills and five blocks.
The Tar Heels (1-1) failed to put together a sustained run in game one and lost by a 30-20 score. Arkansas (3-0) outhit Carolina .316 to .122 and outblocked the Tar Heels five to one. Brinkley was solid, recording six kills and just one error, but the rest of the Tar Heels hit .000 for the opening game. The Lady'Backs used an 11-3 run in the middle of the game to put it out of reach.
Carolina took an early lead in game two and maintained it until an Arkansas block by Koleva and Destiny Clark tied the score at 18. The Lady'Backs finally broke through to take the lead at 22-21 and would never trail again. Arkansas won five of the game's final seven points to close out a 30-27 win.
Game three was never in doubt, as the Lady'Backs gained control early and cruised to a 30-24 win to take the match. The Tar Heels showed some signs of life at 21-13, winning six of eight points to cut the deficit to four at 23-19. But the two squads traded points the rest of the way and Arkansas sealed the sweep.
Carolina will meet the host Oklahoma Sooners Saturday night at 7 CDT to decide second place in the tournament.
