Oct. 26, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Lauren Prussing notched 13 kills and Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland added 11 more to lead North Carolina (13-9, 7-4 ACC) to a 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19) win over Georgia Tech (15-6, 7-4 ACC) Sunday afternoon at the Smith Center.
The Tar Heel duo accounted for five of North Carolina’s last seven points during an 8-0 run to close out the match with a 25-19 win after the Tar Heels rallied from a five point deficit early in the set. The Jackets won four of the first five points in the frame and led by five at 10-5, but the Tar Heels tied the set on a block by Hanson-Tuntland and Prussing at 19-19 and then went on to win the next six points for the match victory.
Talisa Kellogg posted a match-high 16 kills while Callie Miller and Chrissy DeMichelis added 14 apiece against the Tar Heels. The defeat drops the Yellow Jackets into a tie for fifth place in the league standings, as Clemson, Duke, Virginia Tech and Miami all lead the ACC with matching 8-3 conference records.
Michelle Kandell tallied a match-high 23 digs against the Tar Heels and Jordan McCullers added 16 on the afternoon. Allie Niekamp notched her third double-double through the last four matches, posting 48 assists and 15 digs in addition to tallying five kills and two block assists against UNC. Chrissy DeMichelis led the Jackets’ blocking efforts, recording three solo blocks and a trio of block assists for a total of six blocks in the match.
The Jackets had problems stopping Prussing in the first set, as the Tar Heel tallied five kills to lead her squad to a 25-21 win in the opening frame. Tech had two players – Miller and Brittany Roderick – to also record five kills in the frame, but the Tar Heels held off a late Yellow Jacket rally for the four-point match win.
A 10-2 run gave the Yellow Jackets a 21-13 lead in the second set, and Tech held on for the 25-17 win behind the arms of Kellogg, Miller and DeMichelis, who combined for 13 kills in the frame.
After eight ties and four lead changes, North Carolina pulled out a 25-23 win in the third set to take a 2-1 match lead. Hanson-Tuntland hadn’t taken a swing through the first two frames, but led the Tar Heels with five kills on nine attempts in the third set. The Tar Heels tied the set at 20-20 on a kill by Courtney Johnston and took a three-point lead with a pair of kills from Prussing and an attacking error by the Jackets. The Jackets narrowed the edge to one point with a kill from Miller and block by DeMichelis, but the home team held on for the two-point win with a kill from Hanson-Tuntland and another by Stephanie Jansma.
Tech will return to Atlanta to host Virginia Tech and Virginia next weekend. The Yellow Jackets meet the Hokies Friday at 7 p.m. for “Volleyballoween” at O’Keefe Gym and will square off against the Cavaliers Saturday at 8 p.m. Live stats for both matches will be available at Ramblinwreck.com.
