North Carolina
1-4
Minnesota
2-2
Minnesota Tops Carolina In Three Sets
September 6, 2015 | Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --- Leigh Andrew had 10 kills and 10 digs but No. 18 North Carolina dropped its second match of the weekend 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) to Minnesota Friday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Jordyn Schnabl had a double-double with 17 assists and 16 digs for the Tar Heels, who fell to 1-4 on the year.
"This was a tough one for us," head coach Joe Sagula said. "I felt like we played so well in the first part of each set and created opportunities for ourselves. Then we would lose focus, fall behind, rally again only to eventually drop a close set. That seemed to be the story of the weekend."
Minnesota (2-2) pulled away in set one with a 9-2 run halfway through the frame. Carolina answered with a furious rally that made it 20-19, but the Golden Gophers pulled it out with a kill from Daly Santana on their second set point.
Santana got a ball down to claim set two as well, and she led all players with 13 kills on the night. Dalianliz Rosado had a match-high 27 digs to lead the Minnesota defense, which was outblocked 12-5 by UNC.
Keyed by an 8-2 run to start, Minnesota did not trail in the final set en route to a 25-18 win to take the match.
"We saw improvements from last weekend, just not enough positive plays down the stretch," Sagula said. "We are searching for ways to finish strong, make good aggressive plays and finish a set playing with confidence. The teams we played this weekend are quality opponents. And both Wisconsin and Minnesota played well. All we can do is stay focused and prepare ourselves for the next game."
Victoria McPherson had 10 kills and five blocks and Tatiana Durr added 13 digs for Carolina, which returns to Chapel Hill to host the Italy Junior National Team in an exhibition Monday at 3 p.m.
"We look forward to getting back on the court at Carmichael against the Italian Junior National Team and then our regular season home opener on Thursday against Stanford," Sagula said. "We are excited to play in front of our home fans and we will get better."
