North Carolina
Utah
Carolina Swept By No. 24 Utah
September 1, 2006 | Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2006
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- North Carolina dropped its third-straight three-game decision, falling to No. 24 Utah, 30-27, 30-23, 30-9, Friday afternoon at USC's Lyon Center in the opening game of the LMU/USC Hilton LAX Invitaitonal. Bekah Brinkley had a team-high 10 kills, while Ashley Board led the Tar Heels with 11 digs.
With neither team able to get consistent production out of its hitters, the defenses controlled game one. Both squads registered five blocks, with UNC's Amy Beaver leading all players with two solos and two assists. Carolina (1-3) opened up a two-point lead at 11-9 before the Utes (2-1) scored eight unanswered to take a 17-11 lead. The Tar Heels responded with a 4-0 run of their own to tighten things up, but Utah never relinquished the lead and held on for a 30-27 win. UNC's Brianna Eskola and Utah's Airial Salvo each had eight digs in the frame.
Game two was back and forth for most of the early going before Utah pulled away late for a 30-23 win. The game was tied on 12 occasions, the last coming at 16-all when a Noelle Dyk kill tied the score. But the Utes proceeded to win five of the next six points to take a 21-17 advantage that would hold up the rest of the way. Stephanie Jansma was strong for the Tar Heels, recording four kills, five digs and seven assists in the game.
After two straight evenly-matched games, Utah took control in game three, cruising to a 30-9 win to secure the match. The Utes outhit the Tar Heels .448 to -.103 and finished with 18 kills to just three for Carolina. The nine points were the fewest in a 30-point game for UNC since the inception of rally scoring in 2001.
Carolina will look to rebound Saturday afternoon at 1 PDT against Tennessee.
