Tar Heels Drop Weekend Finale to UNLV in Five

Saturday, September 7

Irvine, Calif.

7 PM ET

North Carolina

1-0

UNLV

3-0

UNLV

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 7, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. – Despite taking the first and third sets, Carolina was unable to hold off UNLV for the win, closing out the UC Irvine/Adidas Invitational with a five-set loss on Saturday evening in Irvine, Calif.

The Tar Heels out-blocked UNLV, 10.0 to 5.5, but the Rebels' 62 kills was the difference maker. UNLV's Thea Sweder and Shelby Capllonch led the match with 24 and 20 kills, respectively. Annabelle Archer recorded her first-career double-double with 40 assists and 13 digs. Aristea Tontai led Carolina's offense with a .615 attack percentage on nine kills.

Finishing the weekend at 1-2, Carolina falls to 1-4 on the season while UNLV sits at 3-3.

Despite the Rebels two-point lead until the 14 mark, UNC was first on the board with the set advantage. Skylar Wine stuffed the attack and swatted a kill to keep UNC within reach. A block by Skyy Howard and Archer knotted the set at 14. Tontai's second kill of the set sparked a Rebels timeout as UNC lead 22-17. A UNLV service error sealed the first set win, 25-20.

Mirroring the first set, UNLV took the lead from the start. Nearly back-to-back aces by Hunter Atherton and Karenna Wurl gave UNC its first advantage of the set, 15-14, as UNLV called time. A kill by Howard from Atherton extended Carolina's lead to three. However, a Rebels' run knotted the set back up at 20-all. The Tar Heels battled through one set point thanks to a kill by Wine, but UNLV evened up the match with a 25-23 decision.

Bouncing back in the third set, Carolina went on an 8-1 run with Mia Fradenburg back to serve. The Tar Heels continued to dominate, holding UNLV to .111 in the set. The Rebels battled through two set points before a dig-turned-kill by Parker Austin secured the 25-17 win.

UNLV's Paris Oliveira began the fourth set with a trio of aces for the early edge. Peck's second kill of the match sparked a 4-0 run that featured Carolina's eighth block of the match. However, the Rebels maintained the lead for the 25-18 score, forcing a fifth set.

Howard put up her sixth block of the night for UNC's first point. Carolina jumped a 4-1 lead as UNLV called time. A UNC rotation error knotted up the set at 5-5. A solo block by Austin gave the Heels an 8-6 lead as the teams switched benches. UNLV responded with back-to-back kills to reclaim the lead. Carolina battled through one set point with Wine's 17th kill of the night, but it was not enough for the win as UNLV took the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.

UNC Stat Leaders
» Kills: Skylar Wine (17)
» Assists: Annabelle Archer (40)
» Digs: Annabelle Archer (13)
» Blocks: Skyy Howard (6)
» Hitting: Aristea Tontai (.615, 9-1-13)

Noteworthy
» Skylar Wine matched her single-match career-high with 17 kills.
» Skyy Howard set a career-best with six blocks.
» Annabelle Archer logged her first career double-double.

Up Next
The Tar Heels travel to Michigan to face Miami (Ohio) for a neutral site match on Friday in Rochester before taking on Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday.

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