University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
10-10, 7-5ACC
Miami
14-4, 8-4ACC
Tar Heels End Tough Trip with Loss to Hurricanes
October 29, 2017 | Volleyball
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – North Carolina concluded a difficult road stretch on Sunday afternoon as the University of Miami took down the Tar Heels, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) in conference play. With the win, the Hurricanes move past the Tar Heels in the ACC standings, improving to 14-4 (8-4 ACC), while UNC falls to 10-10 (7-5 ACC).
Senior Beth Nordhorn excelled on offense for Carolina, hitting .500 with a team-high eight kills and no errors. However, no Tar Heel hit double digits, as Taylor Leath tied the senior middle for the team lead with eight kills of her own and junior Madison Laufenberg followed with five.
Holly Carlton put up 14 assists and two aces in the match, while fellow-setter Kendra Koetter tallied 13 assists. Maddie Grace Hough also landed a pair of aces in the match, and Greer Moseman supplemented an ace with five digs.
Leath and libero Casey Jacobs led the back row with nine digs apiece. At the net, Carolina was limited to a season-low 4.0 blocks, three of which were assisted by Katharine Esterley.
Miami was extremely efficient on offense, with all-but-one attacker hitting above .300, including a 15-kill, .480 performance by senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali. Carolina had just two more errors than Miami, but trailed 46-29 in kills and 43-28 in digs, as the Hurricanes outhit the Tar Heels, .374 to .165.
A 5-1 run midway through the first set gave Miami the early lead, 14-8, but Carolina replied to win six straight and tie the score at 14. However, four consecutive UNC errors allowed the Hurricanes to pull back ahead, 18-14, then another 4-0 run made it 22-15. Carolina won five of the next six points to pull back within three, 23-20, on a kill and a solo block by Laufenberg, but a kill by Strantzali ended the first set, as Miami took the opener, 25-21.
Miami opened the second set on a 4-0 run, but Carolina replied to pull within one, 6-5. However, the Hurricanes followed by winning seven of the next eight points to race ahead 13-6. The Tar Heels did not give in, using a late five-point run to pull within three, 19-16, but that was as close as they would get, as Miami rattled off the final four points of the set to take the frame, 25-18.
The third set was tight early, but a 5-0 Miami run midway through the frame gave the Hurricanes a daunting 18-10 lead. Play was fairly even down the stretch, but Carolina was unable to erase the deficit, and Miami ended the third set just as it did the first and second, with a kill by Strantzali, as the Hurricanes completed the sweep, 25-18.
After a tough stretch on the road, Carolina returns to the friendly confines of Carmichael Arena next weekend to open the final homestand of the regular season. UNC kicks off the four-match homestand with a visit from Boston College on Friday, Nov. 3. Opening serve is set for 6:30 p.m.
