University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Tar Heels Down Demon Deacons 3-1
October 6, 2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Seniors Courtney Johnston, Suzanne Haydel and Christine Vaughen combined for 42 kills to lead North Carolina over Wake Forest 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20) Wednesday night at Reynolds Gym. Kaylie Gibson notched 31 digs to help Carolina improve to 15-4 overall and 6-0 in the ACC.
Vaughen led the UNC attack with 17 kills and a .351 hitting percentage. Johnston added 11 kills and seven digs. Haydel earned her fifth double-double of season posting 14 kills and 11 digs. Cora Harms fueled the attack with 37 assists.
"I thought Suzanne Haydel was phenomenal tonight," said head coach Joe Sagula. "It was a total team effort. Christine Vaughen carried us early and I thought Erica Behm and Heather Henry provided a lot of big scores off the bench."
Heather Henry ripped eight kills and Erica Behm added 17 assists off the bench. Gibson's 31 digs are just one short of her season-best. Emily McGee contributed 20 digs as the Tar Heels totaled a season-best 92 digs in the match.
Vaughen ripped six kills to propel North Carolina over Wake Forest 26-24 in the first frame. Both teams sported nearly identically numbers in set one as UNC edged Wake by just two points. McGee and Gibson combined for 15 digs while Johnston chipped in four kills to lead Carolina.
Carolina owned a 17-11 halfway through the second frame. Wake Forest stormed back to fly in front 24-21 behind six Kadija Fornah kills. UNC battled back to slice the Demon Deacon to one at 24-23, but Wake prevailed taking set two 25-23 and evening the match score at one apiece. Wake Forest hit a match-best .300 in the second set.
Haydel notched four kills, two blocks and two digs to lead UNC to a 25-20 set three victory. Carolina limited the Demon Deacons to a match-low .079 hitting percentage in the third frame behind three team blocks. The Tar Heels forced nine Wake attack errors to own a 2-1 match lead.
Seniors Haydel and Vaughen uncorked 11 kills as Carolina won set four 25-20 and the match 3-1. The Tar Heels darted out to a 9-3 lead and never trailed in the final frame. Gibson reeled in 12 digs to surpass 30 plus match digs for the second time in the last three matches.
Carolina has now won a season-best 11 matches, the longest win-streak since a 13-match spurt in 2002. The 6-0 league start is the best since an 8-0 mark that same year.
The win sets up a showdown with rival Duke Friday at 7 p.m. in Durham. The Tar Heels (6-0) and Duke (5-0) are the only two remaining unbeaten squads in the ACC in 2010.
