North Carolina
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Virginia Tech
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Volleyball Tops Virginia Tech in 2020 Season Opener
September 24, 2020 | Volleyball
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Tough serving and a strong presence at the net propelled Carolina to a 3-1 win over Virginia Tech to begin the 2020 season in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The Tar Heels out-aced Virginia Tech 6-0 and out-blocked the Hokies 12.5 to six, led by freshman Kaya Merkler with seven. Although Carolina got off to a slow start, hitting under .100, the Tar Heels took the first set and commanded the final two frames, attacking over .300 to close the night with a four-set win on the ACC Network.
Freshman Aziah Buckner and junior Cox led the tar Heels with double digit kills. Both Cox and Parker Austin posted six blocks apiece while Karenna Wurl anchored the back row with 21 digs. The Hokies split their offense between Kaity Smith, Ashley Homan and Marisa Cerchio while both Smith and Homan recorded double-doubles with double-digit digs as well.
The Tar Heels improve to 1-0 while the Hokies even up their record at 1-1. The two will rematch on Friday at 5 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum. Fans can watch on ACCNX.
How It Happened
The Tar Heels picked up the 2020 season right where 2019 left off, but came away with a different outcome in Thursday night's match. Cox opened the season with her first of 12 kills on the night. The squads battled throughout the first set, keeping the score within two.
An unsuccessful VT challenge knotted the frame at 12-all. The Tar Heels were the first to reach 15 points as Merkler stood out before the break with four kills at the mark. A kill by Buckner from the back row pushed UNC to 24-19 as Virginia Tech called time. A Hokies' miscue earned Carolina the 25-22 first set advantage.
The Hokies bounced back in the third set, posting 14 kills led by six from Smith. Although Ryan Shannon posted an ace to begin the set, an early four-point run set the Hokies up with the edge. The score tied six times with four lead changes. A pair of kills by Cox brought Carolina within two just before the media timeout. Sydney Reed came off the bench and delivered an ace before Buckner knotted the frame at 16-all. Back-to-back blocks by Cox and Merkler knotted the set at 20-all. However, a Carolina miscue earned VT the 26-24 win to even up the score at 1-all.
Carolina bounced back in the third set, hitting .346 while limiting VT to -.077. UNC jumped to an early 9-3 lead with Buckner back to serve, earning one of UNC's six aces. Aristea Tontai came off the bench for a kill to make it 14-10. Cox reached her 10th kill of the night at the 20-13 mark before a triple block by Cox, Tontai and Merkler. Tontai closed out a long rally with her second kill before Maylen Mitrovich dumped the ball for a 25-15 set win and 2-1 edge.
The Tar Heels' momentum continued into the fourth set as UNC attacked at a .321 clip. Although Virginia Tech earned the first point on a kill by Cerchio, Carolina maintained its poise went on a 4-1 and 5-2 run to hold a steady lead. Buckner's 11th kill of the night sent Carolina to the media timeout, leading 15-10. Cox posted four kills in the set. However, Buckner tallied seven kills in the fourth set alone to propel UNC to it's 25-20 win.
Carolina Stat Leaders
» Kills: Aziah Buckner (14), Destiny Cox (12)
» Hitting percentage: Kaya Merkler (.250, 8 kills)
» Assists: Maylen Mitrovich (23)
» Digs: Karenna Wurl (21)
Notable
» Junior Amanda Phegley and freshmen Sydney Reed, Olivia Diaz, Aziah Buckner, Maylen Mitrovich and Kaya Merkler made their Carolina debuts vs. Virginia Tech.
» Libero Karenna Wurl tallied her second-most digs with 21.
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