University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Utah
Tar Heels Fall 3-1 To Utah
August 31, 2007 | Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2007
West Lafayette, Ind. - The North Carolina volleyball team opened the Mortar Board Premier on a sour note Friday, dropping a 3-1 decision to Utah. The Tar Heels fall to 2-2 on the year and will take on host Purdue at 10 a.m. and Dayton at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Brianna Eskola picked up 18 digs in the mtach for Carolina.
Carolina hit a match-high .241 in game one but it was not nearly enough as the Utes hit a remarkable .645 to take the game by a 30-15 margin. The Tar Heels kept it close early in the initial game at 5-4 before Utah went on a roll scoring eight consecutive points to go up 13-4. UNC was able to cut the lead to seven (16-9) but that was as close as the Tar Heels would get in the game as they fell behind one game to none.
The Tar Heels were able to take a closely contested game two, 30-28, despite being behind nearly the entire match. Utah held a lead through the beginning of game two but Carolina kept it close tying the game seven times in the game. Utah was two points within capturing game two before the Tar Heels went on a roll scoring the final seven points of the game to even the match at 1-1.
Carolina and Utah were even after eight points of game number three before Utah took the lead at 5-4 and never looked back taking a 30-21 decision. The Tar Heels hit -.030 in the defeat picking up eight kills in the game.
Looking to even the match at two games apiece and force a fifth game the Tar Heels came out strong in the beginning of game four taking the first two points of the contest. Utah would even the match as the lead changed hands 10 times and both teams were even on 10 different occasions as well. After a Bekah Brinkley kill, the score was tied at 16-16 in the middle of game four, but UNC would score just six points after that point dropping game four 30-22.
Freshman Sue Haydel paced the Tar Heels with 13 kills as Stephanie Jansma tallied an even 40 assists in the match. Brianna Eskola and Jansma registered double-digit numbers in digs as Eskola tallied a match-high 18 and Jansma added 11 of her own.
Carolina will now take on tournament host Purdue on Saturday at 10 a.m. and finish out its day at 5 p.m. with a match against Dayton.
