University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Carolina Falls To Wake In Four
September 27, 2006 | Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2006
CHAPEL HILL --- Amy Beaver had a match-high 19 kills, but North Carolina dropped its third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference match, falling to Wake Forest, 30-27, 24-30, 30-26, 30-23, Wednesday night at Carmichael Auditorium. Natalie Mullikin led the Demon Deacons with 17 kills.
Carolina (3-10, 1-3 ACC) took an early 6-3 lead powered by two kills by Beaver, but Wake Forest (6-6, 2-1 ACC) quickly made up the difference. The Demon Deacons claimed their first lead at 16-15 and that swelled to 18-15 thanks to three straight UNC attack errors. Wake would stretch the gap to six at 27-21 before Carolina made one final run. With Brianna Eskola serving, the Tar Heels won six straight points to even things up at 27. But the hosts were unable to complete the comeback, as Wake Forest took the game's final three points to cap a 30-27 win.
Game two was tight from the start, with neither team able to mount much of a run until the late stages. Trailing 18-17, Carolina ran off three straight to take a lead it would not relinquish. After trading several side outs, UNC got back-to-back services aces from Ashley Board to move ahead 26-22 and force Wake's second timeout. The Deacons would pull to within three at 27-24, but Carolina got a side out thanks to a kill by Megan Owens and served out the game for a 30-24 win.
Wake Forest controlled game three throughout, taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 30-26 win. The Deacons never trailed after the third point of the frame and led by as many as seven at 29-22. Carolina rattled off four straight thanks to three straight blocks by Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland, but the Tar Heels would stall at 29-26 and a Mullikin kill ended it.
The Demon Deacons used an early 9-3 run to pull away in game four, eventually sealing the match with a 30-23 win. After the run put Wake ahead 10-6, Carolina would get no closer than two the rest of the way. The visitors outhit the Tar Heels .294 to .070 in the final frame and .226 to .134 for the match.
Carolina will look to get back on the winning track Saturday night as the Tar Heels host Duke at 6 p.m. That contest will be worth 0.5 points in the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sport competition between the two schools.
