Volleyball: Tar Heels sweep Hoos in ACC opener

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia volleyball team fell 21-25, 18-25, 23-25 to North Carolina in its ACC opener Friday evening at Carmichael Arena.

The Cavaliers (7-4, 0-1 ACC) were led by Abby Tadder, who tallied 10 kills on 21 swings. North Carolina’s Mabrey Shaffmaster, a preseason All-ACC selection, finished with a match-high 16 kills.

Set 1: North Carolina 25, Virginia 21
The Hoos and Tar Heels (7-3, 1-0) went back and forth throughout the first set, without either side being able to pull away from the other. Virginia managed to bring the score to 18-19 before North Carolina went on to score six of the last nine points to claim the first set. Veresia Yon finished set No. 1 with three kills on four attempts along with three blocks.

Set 2: North Carolina 25, Virginia 18
North Carolina opened up set No. 2 on a 9-3 run and did not allow the Cavaliers to come within striking distance for the rest of the set. Virginia ended the second set with a -.028 hitting percentage, tallying only 8 kills.

Set 3: North Carolina 25, Virginia 23
The final set of the match was yet again a back-and-forth battle, as the two sides traded bursts of scoring throughout the third stanza. Virginia gained a 23-22 lead before the Tar Heels called timeout to cool down the Cavalier offense and scored three straight out of the break to seal the match. Tadder finished the third set with four kills on eight swings with two blocks.

FROM HEAD COACH SHANNON WELLS

“I’m really proud of the team’s effort. We had a great week of practice, probably the best that we’ve evolved over three days of practice. I thought we did a really good job of coming out and executing that. Unfortunately, we had way too many errors. When you play a great team like North Carolina and put yourself in that kind of situation it’s going to make for a really long night. I thought we challenged our team to make some changes in that third set – to make some changes tactically and technically and they answered the call and gave ourselves a chance. We’ll get back to work tomorrow and get better in the gym and prepare for Duke.”

MATCH NOTES

• Virginia tallied five service aces, while the Tar Heels managed two.
• Friday’s match marked the ninth time this season in which the Cavaliers recorded more service aces than their opponent.
• Setter Ashley Le tied for a match-high 12 digs in addition to her 24 assists, which marked her fifth double-double of the season.
• Middle blocker Veresia Yon finished with a match-high six blocks.

UP NEXT

Virginia travels to Duke on Sunday. First serve from Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).