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UNC easily defeats Davidson

Davidson took an early 3-2 lead in the first game of the North Carolina volleyball team's match Tuesday in Carmichael Auditorium.

It was the last advantage the Wildcats would see.

The Tar Heels came out all smiles as they pounded the Wildcats, taking the match 30-21, 30-17, 30-16.

"I thought that we weren't very well disciplined early," said Coach Joe Sagula. "We came into this match with the goal of learning something about ourselves, and we were pretty sloppy."

UNC (13-11) traded points with the Wildcats (9-18) in the first game, and Davidson came to within one point at 18-17.

But after a quick timeout, the Tar Heels outscored the Wildcats 12-4 to close the first game.

The Tar Heels then knocked the wind out of Davidson early in the second game, winning 10 straight points, half of which were kills by Dani Nyenhuis.

The team did more of the same in the third game to close out the match.

"The third game was better," Sagula said. "We did enjoy the game, and I thought we made some better plays. Our blockers did better for the first two games and our middles were very slow to close the block on the left."

Although Sagula said part of the strategy was to give Nyenhuis an easy match, the outside hitter managed 16 kills and a career-high .696 hitting percentage.

"I just told Norma (Cortez) to set the middle hitters, so I subbed Dani out and said, 'Let's see if you can set her on the bench,' because that's what I thought she would still do," Sagula said.

Freshman Christie Clark also came out strong in the match.

In her first career start as a Tar Heel, the middle hitter posted 11 blocks, a team high for the season.

"Christie hasn't had as much of an opportunity, but I think she did so well," said senior Caroline deRoeck.

"When we were finally able to get her the ball, she was putting her hips down and getting great blocks."

Sophomore Emily Guerry added her own contribution with 10 kills and five blocks in the victory.

"Emily Guerry started slowly, but she finished really strong," Sagula said. "Our blocking picked up in the last game."

Defensive specialists deRoeck and freshman Ashley Board were even shuffled up to outside hitters, displaying the Tar Heels' vast versatility.

"They are good volleyball players and great athletes who adapted real well, and I'm real proud of them," Sagula said. "It allows everyone to realize that they've got an important role on this team."

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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