Carolina Battles No. 3 Minnesota In Season-Opening Setback

Friday, August 30

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6:30 PM

North Carolina

0-1

Minnesota

1-0

MINNESOTA

NORTH CAROLINA

August 30, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

CHAPEL HILL – Despite hitting .325 in the second set, the Tar Heels dropped a three-set match to No. 3 Minnesota in the 2019 season opener in Carmichael Arena on Friday night. Opening the season against a top-10 opponent for the third consecutive year, the Tar Heels showed noticeable improvement against the perennial powerhouse as the match progressed with higher hitting efficiency in set two and three additional blocks in the third frame compared to the first.

The Gophers attacked early in the match with a seven-point lead by the first media timeout. With Greer Moseman at the line, UNC strung together a three-point rally, including a service ace. Skyy Howard logged back-to-back kills while Destiny Cox and Katharine Esterley stuff the Minnesota attack late in the set. However, Minnesota's Morgan Taylor swatted her eighth kill of the frame for the 25-16 decision.

The Tar Heels showed their fight in set two, battling through 19 tie scores and nine lead changes. Esterley and Harrison set the tone by putting up a block for the first point of the second set. On a roll in the set with eight total kills, Parker Austin pancaked the ball and Harrison finished off the play with a kill for a 11-9 lead. UNC attacked at a .500 clip through the media timeout with a 15-13 lead. Wurl led UNC with six digs in the frame. A block by Cox and Howard evened up the match at 24-24 before Parker tied it up again at 26-all. The Tar Heels battled through three set points before Minnesota took a 2-0 lead with a 28-26 decision.

Carolina picked up where it left off as Harrison began the third set with three straight kills. Mia Fradenburg kept several long rallies alive totaling six digs in the set. The Tar Heels strung together a trio of three-point rallies, highlighted by a Fradenburg ace. However, the Gophers proved their No. 3 ranking, taking the frame 25-17 while holding UNC to its lowest hitting percentage of the match.

Stat Leaders
» Kills: Parker Austin (10), Destiny Cox (9), Lauren Harrison (9)
» Assists: Annabelle Archer (27)
» Digs: Mia Fradenburg (12), Karenna Wurl (9)
» Blocks: Katharine Esterley (4)

Noteworthy
» Freshmen Skyy Howard, Karenna Wurl and Parker Austin earned starting spots in their collegiate debuts. Redshirt-freshman Lauren Harrison and sophomore transfer Ryan Shannon made their first appearances in Carolina Blue
» Both Austin and Wurl logged their first career aces in the first set.
» Archer set a career high with 27 assists.
» This is the third consecutive season UNC opened its season against top-10 ranked Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Up Next
Carolina wraps up the 2019 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Saturday at 6:30 p.m. vs. No. 5 Wisconsin. Next week, Carolina travels to the UC Irvine/Adidas Invitational Sept. 6-7 in Irvine, Calif.

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