Michigan
10-1
North Carolina
3-6
Michigan Suffers First Loss of 2015 at Hands of UNC
9/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
» Michigan ends its non-conference schedule with a 10-1 record.
» The Wolverines hit just .071 in the match, while North Carolina hit .393.
» Michigan opens Big Ten play next Friday (Sept. 25) at home.
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C. (Carmichael Arena)
Event: Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Score: North Carolina 3, Michigan 0 (18-25, 7-25, 19-25)
Records: U-M (10-1), UNC (3-6)
Attendance: 1,325
Next U-M Event: Friday, Sept. 25 -- vs. Purdue (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The 20th-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team suffered its first loss of the year in its last non-conference match, falling at North Carolina in straight sets (18-25, 7-25, 19-25) at Carmichael Arena.
The Wolverines' 10-match winning streak to start the year came to a close. They will take a 10-1 record into Big Ten play next weekend at home with matches on Friday (Sept. 25) vs. Purdue at 7 p.m. and Saturday (Sept. 26) against Indiana at 7 p.m.
The Tar Heels hit at a high percentage all night, finishing at a mark of .393 with just eight attack errors. The Wolverines struggled to find a rhythm throughout the evening.
North Carolina entered the match with a 2-6 record on the season but did have a 3-0 win over No. 3 Stanford already on the résumé. The Tar Heels came out swinging, hitting more than .700 for the early part of the match to build an 8-3 lead. UNC ended up hitting .395 for the set, winning 25-18. The Tar Heels had 19 kills and five blocks in the opening set. Meanwhile, Michigan hit just .184 in the set.
It was just the second time in 11 matches this season that Michigan lost the opening set. The other was against Ohio in a five-set win.
Just about everything went North Carolina's way in the second set as it took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-7 victory. Michigan miscues and a UNC .412 hitting percentage led to the outcome.
The third set was neck and neck at 11-11 until North Carolina started to slowly pull away. The Tar Heels led by as many as five points on the way to closing out the three-set victory, 25-18.
Junior Abby Cole led the way for Michigan with eight kills, hitting .500 for the match. North Carolina had two players, Paige Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson, with a match-high 10 kills each.
