Carolina Downs Virginia, Earns First ACC Sweep of 2019

Sunday, October 20

Charlottesville, Va.

1 PM

North Carolina

8-10,5-3ACC

Virginia

9-12,1-7ACC

North Carolina

Virginia

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 20, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Hitting a season-best .374, North Carolina swept Virginia on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gym for the Tar Heels first three-set win in conference play.

The Tar Heels trailed by as many as seven in the first set, but were able to come back and complete the sweep of Virginia. Led by error-less matches from four Carolina attackers, the Tar Heels recorded their best match, offensively, since 2017.

UNC balanced its offense between Skylar Wine and Lauren Harrison each with double-digit kills while Skyy Howard hit .600 on six kills and Destiny Cox hit .562 on nine. Mia Fradenburg grounded the defense with a match-best 13 digs. The Tar Heels out-blocked Virginia, 9.0-4.0. Jayna Francis led the Cavaliers with 10 kills while Jelena Novakovic aced Carolina three times.

Earning their second sweep of the season, Carolina matches its 2018 win total, improving to 8-10, 5-3 in ACC play. Virginia slides to 9-12, 1-7 in the ACC.

Despite a seven-point Cavaliers' midway through the set, Carolina battled back to take the first set 26-24 with back-to-back kills by Wine to finish it. Virginia led throughout a majority of the set thanks to a trio of scoring runs. The Tar Heels used their second timeout following back-to-back aces for the Cavaliers' Novakovic at the 17-10 mark. A four-point rally featuring back-to-back kills by Harrison brought the Heels within one as UVA used its second timeout. Ending the frame on a 4-1 run, including a Virginia set-point, Wine secured the set win on a kill.

Attacking at a .394 rate in the second set, Carolina's momentum continued for the 25-19 win and two-set advantage. An early 5-1 run, featuring kills by Cox, Harrison and Wine, gave the Tar Heels the edge and maintained for the win. The 'Hoos brought the set within one on a kill by Novakovic, but Carolina answered back with a four-point run with back-to-back blocks by Aristea Tontai, Wine and Cox for and 16-11 edge. Cox's sixth kill of the match gave the Tar Heels set point before a Virginia service error finalized the score.

Katharine Esterley extended Carolina's four-point rally as Virginia called its first timeout at the 8-5 mark. Wine extended the Tar Heels lead with a trio of kills for a 12-7 edge. UVA brought the score within two on Sarah Billiard's eighth kill of the match, 17-15. However, Wine and Harrison posted four and five kills, respectively to help Carolina to the 25-22 win.

Carolina Stat Leaders
» Kills: Skylar Wine (13)
» Attack Pct.: Skyy Howard (.600, 6 kills), Destiny Cox (.562, 9 kills)
» Assists: Hunter Atherton (23)
» Digs: Mia Fradenburg (13)
» Total Blocks: Destiny Cox, Aristea Tontai, Skyy Howard, Lauren Harrison (3.0)
» Aces: Aristea Tontai (2)

Noteworthy
» Picking up their eighth win of the season, the Tar Heels matched their 2018 win total and surpass their conference win total with their fifth today.
» Hitting .374, Carolina posted its highest attack percentage since Oct. 14, 2017 when UNC hit .407 vs. Virginia.

Up Next
The Tar Heels return home for alumni weekend, facing Syracuse Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Boston College Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

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