Tar Heels Drop Heartbreaker at Georgia Tech

Friday, October 26

Atlanta

7 PM

North Carolina

5-15, 1-10ACC

Georgia Tech

14-10, 3-8ACC

North Carolina

Georgia Tech

Ava Bell led UNC with 19 kills.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 26, 2018 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

ATLANTA – North Carolina battled to the end against the Yellow Jackets, posting 13 blocks and a season-best seven aces, but the Tar Heels hard-fought efforts were not enough to overcome Georgia Tech, falling in five sets Friday night in at Atlanta.

After winning the first set, North Carolina (5-15, 1-10 ACC) dropped sets two and three before battling back to knot the match up at 2-2. UNC and Georgia Tech (14-10, 3-8 ACC) battled through seven tie scores in the final set, but the Yellow Jackets ultimately came out on top for the 3-2 win.

Despite the loss, Carolina showed progress in the back-and-forth match. Both Skylar Wine and Madison Laufenberg set career highs Friday night. Wine recorded her first career double-double while upping her single-match career high kills to 17 and matching her previous best of 10 digs. Laufenberg stuffed five Georgia Tech swings for a new single-match career high as well. Greer Moseman paced Carolina's serving with a trio of aces while Casey Jacobs tacked on two. Both Ava Bell and Hunter Atherton were one off their career bests with 19 kills and 48 assists, respectively. Bell hit a match-high .515. Mia Fradenburg posted her 13th double-digit dig match with 18 while Destiny Cox also reached double figures with 11 kills. Katharine Esterley and Bell led Carolina's block with six apiece.

Georgia Tech balanced its attack among four in double digits, led by Mikaila Dowd with a match-high, 26 kills. Dowd posted a double-double with 10 digs while three Yellow Jackets also reached 10 or more.

Despite the Tar Heels' third most team blocks in a match this season – their best blocking effort since facing NC State – Georgia Tech's home court advantage in the booming O'Keefe Gym proved the difference-maker for the Jackets.

North Carolina and Georgia Tech battled through 17 tie scores before the Tar Heels came out on top in set one. Bell swatted a kill and served up an ace to give UNC an 8-6 lead early in set one. Back-to-back kills by Bell gave UNC a 16-15 edge. After a Cox kill put the Tar Heels up 18-17, Georgia Tech answered back with four points. However, the Tar Heels showed their fight with five kills each from Bell and Wine in the frame. Wine's kills positioned UNC for two set-points before a Tech miscue gave the Tar Heels their first set win since Oct. 7 at Florida State, 26-24.

The Tar Heels went on a four-point run early in the set thanks to Jacob's second service ace and a trio of blocks with Esterly, Laufenberg and Cox. However, the Yellow Jackets quickly reclaimed the lead thanks to an ace by Mariana Brambilla. UNC posted six blocks within the set to keep the set within reach. Trailing by five, the Tar Heels came out of their timeout with a trio of points to cut the deficit to 18-20. Carolina continued to fight, bringing the score within two but a kill from Brambilla secured the 25-21 decision.

Mirroring the second set, Moseman swatted an ace to kick off a Carolina 4-0 run early in the third set. Despite falling behind by five late in the set, Raleigh Clark came off the bench for a kill to give UNC some momentum that ultimately turned into a 4-0 run. Bell led UNC with four kills in the stanza with three each from Wine and Cox. Atherton sent a kill to the back pin, bringing the Tar Heels within one, 22-23. However, Tech closed out the set for a 25-23 decision and a 2-1 lead.

With Moseman back to serve, the Tar Heels went on an eight-point run for an early 10-4 lead. The Yellow Jackets worked their way back on a 5-1 run. However, the Tar Heels battled through for the fourth set win, 25-20. Moseman's tough serving paced Carolina throughout the set with a pair of aces. Wine led UNC with five kills without an error, upping her total to 14.

UNC led as the teams switched benches, 8-6. Neither team scored more than two points back-to-back, battling through seven tie scores. However, Georgia Tech rallied for four points to take a 14-11 lead. A kill from Bell and a Georgia Tech miscue helped UNC battle through two GT match-points. But the home court advantage gave the Yellow Jackets the edge for a 15-13 win and 3-2 match victory.

Up next, Carolina travels to Clemson Sunday for a 1 p.m. matchup before returning home to Carmichael Arena on Nov. 2 vs. Duke and Nov. 4 vs. Wake Forest.

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