University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
0-3
Auburn
4-1
Three Heels Make Their 2017 Debut In 3-1 Loss to Auburn
September 2, 2017 | Volleyball
Bayamón, Puerto Rico – No. 16 North Carolina showed improvement on Saturday night, but dropped the opening match of the ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico, 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 25-27, 25-21), to Auburn. True freshmen Sehrena Hull and Maddie Grace Hough made their Tar Heel debuts in the match, while junior Madison Laufenberg made her first career start on the right side. With the win, Auburn improves to 4-1 on the year, while Carolina slips to 0-3.
Senior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn had a career night, hitting .417 with a team-high and personal-best 12 kills to go with three blocks. Taylor Leath registered the first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Taylor Borup was the third Tar Heel in double digits with 10 kills. Laufenberg, in the first start of her career, put up a career-high six kills to go with three blocks.
Redshirt freshman Holly Carlton had a strong all-around match, tallying 39 assists, seven kills, five digs, two blocks and an ace. Sophomore libero Mia Fradenburg recorded her first career 20-dig match with a match-high 24, while freshmen Hough and Hull both registered double-digit digs in their collegiate debuts, with 11 and 10, respectively.
Taylor Fricano came off the bench to start the fourth set and put up three blocks, tying for the team lead, while four Tar Heels served up aces, including two by Fradenburg.
Carolina out-dug the Tigers, 73-68, and led 9.5 to 6.0 in blocks, but trailed in kills (55-50) and hitting percentage (.150 to .207).
Auburn took a 3-1 lead to start the match. UNC tied the score 6-6, but the Tigers pushed right back again, 9-6, and stretched it to 18-13. Carolina did not back down, using a 7-2 run to tie the score at 23 off back-to-back kills by Carlton and Borup. However, Auburn replied with two kills of its own to take the opener, 25-23.
It was Carolina that would pace the second set, winning the first point and taking an 11-9 lead off a kill by Laufenberg. Both teams traded points for the majority of the set, and a kill by Nordhorn made it 21-20 UNC. A Carolina attack error gave Auburn its first lead since it was 6-5 at 22-21. Borup tied the score at 22 with a kill, but much like the first set, the Tigers won the battle down the stretch, capturing the second set, 25-22, and taking a 2-0 match lead.
A 3-0 run midway through the third gave Auburn a 15-11 lead, but the Tar Heels battled back, using a kill and a block by Leath to pull back within one, 23-22. Macy Reece followed with a kill, but back-to-back kills by Nordhorn erased two set points to knot the score at 24. An error put Auburn back in front, but Carolina ran off three straight, using a Leath ace to reach set point, and a kill by Carlton gave the Tar Heels their first set victory of the season, 27-25.
The fourth set began knotted 5-5, but a 6-0 run pushed the Tigers ahead 11-5 and soon they reached match point, 24-18. Carolina would not go quietly, as back-to-back blocks by Fricano cut the deficit in half, but a service error cut off the comeback, as Auburn won the fourth, 25-21, and captured the match, 3-1.
The Tar Heels return to Coliseo Rubén Rodriguez on Sunday, Sept. 3, for the conclusion of the ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico. Carolina will take on No. 3 Florida, the third top-10 opponent in UNC's first four matches. The match will be streamed live on FloVolleyball.tv.
