Volleyball Hands Duke Loss, Stays Undefeated

Face-painted Cameron Crazies hurled insults at the visiting side. Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon watched from the stands. And, in reference to Duke's 11-0 record, the Blue Devil mascot roamed the crowd wearing a headband that read "Go to hell, we want 12."

Unfortunately for Duke, the Blue Devil will have to wear the headband again.

The Tar Heels won the match 3-1

(30-28, 14-30, 30-26, 30-16), keeping their undefeated ACC record intact and handing the Blue Devils their first loss of the season.

The win came a night after a hard-fought UNC win at Wake Forest, where the Tar Heels prevailed 3-1 (30-28,

30-28, 25-30, 30-27).

Like Friday's match, Saturday's victory was not an easy one. After edging Duke 30-28 in the first game, UNC

(11-3, 4-0 in the ACC) was routed 14-30 as the Blue Devil offense began to click.

"What they did was they went to their middles, and we had a hard time blocking," UNC coach Joe Sagula said. "And then they started to speed up their offense, and they went a little faster to the outside, and because of that our defense wasn't set."

But rather than going into a tailspin, the Tar Heels adjusted defensively and took the third game 30-26.

"Part of it was knowing what they were going to do offensively and getting our blockers to make some adjustments and get there faster," Sagula said of the team's strategy.

In the fourth game, the Tar Heels raced to a 10-4 lead and never looked back, winning 30-16 and sending the Blue Devils (11-1, 3-1 ACC) to their first loss.

Holly Strauss paced the UNC attack with 14 kills and a hitting percentage of .429. Nicole Reis and Laura Greene also contributed for the Tar Heel offense with 15 kills apiece.

Eve Rackham tallied 41 assists for UNC, her highest total since injuring her ankle Sept. 1 against Penn State.

The Tar Heels prevailed despite 14 serving errors, which Sagula attributed to a variety of factors.

"In the first game, we just didn't serve tough," Sagula said. "You have to get used to the gym you're in a little bit.

"We just weren't focused on technically serving really well. And sometimes being anxious contributes a little bit. I think we were just pumped up."

Greene said the team tried to give Duke tougher serves to handle, but the added aggressiveness led to more mistakes.

Although UNC beat the Blue Devils on the road, the team downplayed the effects of the Cameron crowd.

"Actually, a lot of the people that were there were Carolina fans," Sagula said. "But it's an extra thing that we can store and know how to play in a non-friendly environment."

But rather than talking about where the team stood Saturday night, Greene seemed more interested about where the team is now: the top of the ACC standings.

Said Greene, "We're right where we want to be."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.