University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
Carolina Falls In Four To Clemson
October 26, 2007 | Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2007
Clemson, S.C. -
Carolina fell to the Clemson Tigers (19-2, 12-0 ACC) Friday night in Clemson, S.C. as the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference lived up to its billing and the Tar Heels dropped a 3-1 (23-30, 24-30, 30-26, 21-30) decision. Megan Owens led the Tar Heels with a career-high 20 kills on the night. Carolina drops to 9-12 overall and 5-7 in the ACC as Clemson extends its school-best winning streak to 15.Clemson lived up to its hot-hitting reputation in game one as the host Tigers hit .415 in the opening frame and took game one 30-23. The lead was traded on six separate occasions and tied 12 different ones as well. The Tar Heels were down 19-16 when Megan Owens caught fire. The Carmel, Ind. Native reeled off four consecutive kills to go along with a Clemson attack error to push Carolina into a 21-19 lead. The Tigers tried to cool off Owens and the Tar Heels with a timeout and did just the trick with the break.
Clemson would go on a run of their own after the break scoring 10 consecutive points, despite a pair of UNC timeouts. Carolina added two points late to end the rally but it was too little too late as Clemson picked up the final point on a Tar Heel error for the 30-23 win. Owens finished the opening game with eight kills to lead both teams. Carolina was held without a block in game one.
Game two the Tar Heel defense was able to hold Clemson to a .283 hitting percentage but the Tigers were able to use another run, this of the 6-1 variety, to take game two and a commanding 2-0 advantage. Megan Owens led Carolina in kills once again with four and was joined by Bekah Brinkley who chipped in four while giving the Tar Heels a spark off the bench. After falling behind 24-19, Carolina was never able to battle back as it dropped game two 30-24.
Carolina would not quit, however, as they were able to claim game three 30-26. The Tar Heels took an early 8-5 lead before Clemson battled back to tie it at eight. Neither team was able to lengthen a lead as the game was tied a match-high 14 times and the lead shifted hands seven times. The Tar Heels made sure that the 22-21 lead it would take late in game three would be the last lead change of the game. Carolina would outscore Clemson 8-5 over the final stretch for the game three victory.
Owens led the Tar Heels in kills for the third consecutive game as she picked up seven in the win. Not far behind was Brinkley who added five more to her total. Carolina out hit the Tigers in game three by a .264-.217 margin.
Carolina fell behind early in game four and was never able to climb out of the early hole. Clemson took game four 30-21 on the back of an early 11-4 run to open the game. The Tar Heels would close the gap to four on several occasions but were never able to get over the hump.
Owens finished with a career-high 20 kills and chipped in 12 digs for one of three Tar Heel double-doubles on the night. Setter Stephanie Jansma eclipsed the 50-assist mark with 51 on the night to go along with 16 digs. Joining in on the double-double action was Sue Haydel who recorded 11 kills and 18 digs.
Carolina will return to action on Saturday when they take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta at 7 p.m. to wrap up the weekend road trip.
