University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Tar Heels Fall In Five To Wahoos
October 10, 2008 | Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A night after battling Virginia Tech in a five-set thriller the Tar Heels were at it again Friday night as they battled the visiting Virginia Cavaliers (11-7, 3-3 ACC) in another five-set match that saw the Wahoos come out on top 3-2 (29-27, 17-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12). Lauren Prussing and Suzanne Haydel both set career highs in the match as Prussing went for 25 kills, while Haydel added 20 of her own to go along with 29 digs. The Tar Heels (9-8, 3-3 ACC) will look to bounce back Tuesday night when they face in-state rival NC State in a road tilt that starts a three-match road swing.
A furious rally by the visiting Cavaliers in set one helped them to push the opener into extra points as Virginia claimed the 29-27 win. The Tar Heels led by as many as five points in the set thanks in large part to a 4-0 run that saw back-to-back kills from Lauren Prussing which helped Carolina take a 15-9 lead in the early going. A 7-1 run by the Wahoos would even things up at 16-16 forcing Carolina to call a timeout. The teams would not separate much the rest of the way as neither team gained a two-point lead until the bitter end. Virginia would score a point and the Tar Heels would answer right back as the teams tied at points 17-27 before the Cavaliers' Lauren Dickinson sealed the win with a kill followed by an assisted block. Freshman Erica Behm got the start at setter and dished out nine assists in the opening set as Suzanne Haydel carried over her solid play from Thursday night with a team-high four kills.
Virginia carried the momentum from the win into set two and scored four of the first five points to take the early lead. The Heels would battle back tying things up at 8-8 before Carolina went on a 5-0 to take control of the set. Carolina would pull away at that point leading to a 25-17 set two victory. Courtney Johnston stepped up in the second set delivering five kills with just one error in seven attempts. Lauren Prussing chipped in five kills for the second straight as she quickly hit double digits in the match.
The Tar Heels kept things rolling in the third set picking up six of the first nine points. Carolina would maintain the six-point lead thanks to another kill from Haydel, which made the score 13-7 midway through. Virginia would storm all the way back and take a 16-15 lead on the back of an 8-3 run. The teams would trade the next 12 points as Haydel added another kill to spark her squad. An attack error by the Wahoos preceded back-to-back kills by Prussing as the senior outside hitter led the Tar Heels to the 25-22 win. Haydel and Prussing matched each other in the set as the duo put up eight kills apiece. The Tar Heels hit .260 in the set three victory.
Prussing and Haydel led the charge once again in set four as Prussing finished with six and Haydel added four but it would not be enough as Virginia held off the Tar Heels for the 25-23 win. Carolina led nearly the entire set and held a four-point advantage as late as 21-17. Virginia would not quit and scored five consecutive points late in the set to take a 23-22 lead before claiming two of the next three points for the win. Carolina hit a match-low .091 in the loss and held the Wahoos to a .071 mark.
The decisive fifth set saw Virginia take the early lead with three of the opening four points. A kill off the hand of Heather Brooks and another from Johnston pulled Carolina within one at 4-3. The teams would trade the next two points before Cavaliers tallied back-to-back points to take a commanding 7-4 lead. Carolina would even things up at 10-10 taking advantage before the teams traded the next four points as Christine Vaughen capped things off with her sixth kill of the night before Virginia sealed the deal with three straight points to deny the Tar Heels of their second straight five-set win with the 15-12 win.
Prussing eclipsed her career high in kills with 25 on the night, besting any mark of the last two years. Haydel set her own career high as well with 20 on the night, thanks in large part to Behm who finished the five-set match with 56. Haydel turned in her second straight double-double with 29 digs to go along with her 20 kills as Brianna Eskola led the team with 30 digs of her own. The Tar Heels were unable to hit over or through the Cavaliers blocks most of the night as Virginia racked up 18 on the night.
Carolina will look to answer with a win Tuesday night as the Tar Heels head east down I-40 to take on in-state rival NC State at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum.
