Volleyball Drops Match at No. 19 Pittsburgh in Straight Sets

Sunday, March 28

Pittsburgh, Pa.

12:30 PM

North Carolina

10-6,9-5ACC

Pittsburgh

14-4,12-4ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
North Carolina	15	11	13	0
Pittsburgh	25	25	25	3

huddle
University of North Carolina Volleyball v Virginia
Carmichael Arena
Chapel Hill, NC
Sunday, November 1, 2020

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

March 28, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: Ella Coxe

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – North Carolina fell to No. 19 Pittsburgh in straight sets on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pa.

"It was challenging weekend for us," head coach Joe Sagula said. "We fought hard on Saturday against Florida State. It was a battle between two pretty equal teams. We kept it close, but ultimately fell a little short in the last set. It was a tough to try to bounce back after a tough five-set loss less than 24 hours ago. Pitt came out really well today and we were off our game from the beginning. There were a lot of lessons learned today in our competitiveness and preparation. We didn't compete with the same energy that we have been this spring. That's part of the challenge of the schedule this year with back-to-back matches. We have to take this weekend, learn from it and move forward to Louisville and Miami."

Hitting .379 in the opening set, Pitt ran away with set, 25-15. The Panthers' momentum continued into the second frame, resulting in a 25-11 victory. Although Skyy Howard tallied four kills in the third set, it wasn't enough, as Pitt clinched a 25-13 win for the 3-0 win.

For the Tar Heels, Amanda Phegley led with seven kills in the match. Annabelle Archer had 16 assists and five digs, and Aristea Tontai had three blocks. Pitt's Chinaza Ndee led the match with 9 kills and a .750 hitting percentage.

North Carolina falls to 10-6 overall on the season, 9-5 in conference play. The Panthers improve to 14-4, 12-4 in the ACC. Up next, Carolina travels to Coral Gables to play a pair of ACC matches against Louisville and Miami on April 2 and 3.

How It Happened
Pitt jumped out with a 6-0 lead to start the match, but an error by the Panthers and a kill by Phegley put the Tar Heels on the board. UNC managed a three-point run to bring the Tar Heels within two. Despite Phegley and Kaya Merkler's three kills each in the set and a solo block by Phegley late in the frame, the Panthers prevailed for a 25-15 set victory.

Pitt continued in the second set, taking four-point lead out of the gate. Emily Zinger ended the Panthers run with her second of four kills. Coming out of a timeout, Archer earned a kill and a service ace, giving the Tar Heels some momentum. However, Pitt strung together a pair of 3-0 runs leading to a 25-11 win, taking a 2-0 lead on the match.

Similar to the first two sets, the Panthers took a quick 3-0 lead over the Tar Heels. Back-to-back kills by Howard from Ryan Shannon brought the score within one, but Pitt proved its No. 19 ranking with a 8-1 run. UNC won three consecutive match points highlighted by a Tontai-Merkler block, but Pittsburgh clinched the match with a 25-13 set win.

Carolina Stat Leaders
» Kills: Amanda Phegley (7)
» Hitting percentage: Annabelle Archer (.500)
» Assists: Annabelle Archer (16)
» Blocks: Aristea Tontai (3)
» Digs: Annabelle Archer (6)
» Aces: Annabelle Archer (1)

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