Tar Heels Out-Block No. 5 Wisconsin in Loss

Saturday, August 31

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6:30 PM

North Carolina

0-2

Wisconsin

2-0

WISCONSIN

NORTH CAROLINA

Photo by: Dana Gentry

August 31, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

CHAPEL HILL – Despite doubling the Badgers' block, North Carolina fell in straight sets to No. 5 Wisconsin on Saturday night to conclude the 2019 ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Carmichael Arena. UNC totaled six team blocks compared to Wisconsin's three, but UW's .450 attack efficiency secured the sweep to improve to 2-0 on the year while the Tar Heels slide to 0-2.

"Wisconsin is a good team – one of the best we've seen," head coach Joe Sagula said. "I'm glad we earned some points early and made some comebacks… We know we can play against some good teams, but we need to work on consistency. Being able to compete on a consistent basis, point after point at this level is a challenge. It's going to be a long growth process for this young team. There were encouraging points. We saw some depth tonight when we brought people off the bench that came and helped us. We trying to develop our team and depth. It's going to take some time."

Despite falling to a seven-point deficit to begin the match, the Tar Heels bounced back and brought it within five. After a 9-0 run Badger run, Lauren Harrison swatted UNC's first kill of the game to swing the momentum back to Carolina. UNC had back-to-back blocks late in the frame, highlighted by a triple block by Destiny Cox, Katharine Esterley and Parker Austin. With a trio of kills by Skyy Howard throughout the frame, Carolina went on a 6-2 run to force a Wisconsin timeout. However, the Badgers' .351 attack gave UW the 25-20 set win.

The Badgers' momentum continued in the second set for the 25-13 decision, without a single attack error. Coming off the bench, Skylar Wine made her first appearance of the match in set two, slugging five kills for a .444 attack percentage. However, Minnesota's Dana Rettke hit a nearly perfect, 5-for-6 with a pair of blocks in the set en route to the 2-0 edge.

Jumping to an early lead, the Tar Heels picked up some momentum in the third set as Skyy Howard set Carolina up for a three-point run to start. Raleigh Clark came off the bench and logged a three blocks, including a triple block with Harrison and Carly Peck. However, Wisconsin's Izzy Ashburn was at the line for a 6-0 run that gave the Badgers the lead. UNC kept the set within three until Ashburn, who totaled four aces on the night, was back to serve a third time. The Badgers ended on a four-point run for the 25-17 set win and sweep.

UNC Stat Leaders
» Kills: Lauren Harrison (12)
» Assists: Annabelle Archer (26)
» Digs: Karenna Wurl (6)
» Blocks: Raleigh Clark (3)
» Hitting Pct.: Skylar Wine (.385 on seven kills)

Noteworthy
» Redshirt-freshman Lauren Harrison set a career high of 12 kills in her first career start.
» Carly Peck made her collegiate debut in the second set.
» This is the third consecutive season UNC opened its season against top-10 ranked Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Up Next
The Tar Heels travel to the UC Irvine/Adidas Invitational Sept. 6-7 in Irvine, Calif.

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