Canes lose two matches in Carolina

Courtesy of Jankee Shah//The Daily Tar Heel
Courtesy of Jankee Shah//The Daily Tar Heel

Coming off of a home stand that saw the University of Miami volleyball team go 5-1, the Hurricanes traveled to North Carolina over the weekend to continue its ACC schedule.

Needless to say, the road was not kind to Miami (12-4, 2-3).

The offense failed to produce and in two contests against North Carolina and North Carolina State, Miami did not win a set. The Hurricanes dropped consecutive matches for the first time this season.

Following an impressive come from behind victory at home against Virginia last weekend, the Hurricanes took on the University of North Carolina on Friday night and got handled in straight sets.

Despite receiving 10 kills and a solid performance from junior middle blocker Ali Becker, Miami could not make up for the lack of offense from the rest of the team.

No other Hurricane reached double-digits kills in three sets of play, and North Carolina’s balanced attack took care of the rest.

The Tar Heels had three players reach nine kills and Miami lost by set scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-21.

It was the second consecutive time Miami had been swept by North Carolina. The Hurricanes fell at home to the Tar Heels last October 23rd, 3-0.

Looking to bounce back on Sunday afternoon against NC State it was redshirt junior outside hitter Christine Williamson and junior outside hitter Lane Carico who stepped up with big performances.

Williamson recorded 16 kills and 3 blocks in the match while Carico notched 13 kills of her own.

Unfortunately for the Hurricanes the offense was again somewhat absent and no other player recorded more than four kills.

Miami once again found itself on the losing side of the scoreboard as NC State swept the Hurricanes by set scores of 26-24, 25-22 and 25-22.

The lack of offense was puzzling to see from Miami, a team that has played with a balanced attack that has both dominated and frustrated opponents all season long.

To have only three players reach double-digit kills in two matches was very uncharacteristic of the Hurricanes. So was the lack of a set victory.

It was the first time all season that the Hurricanes were swept for a loss, and it happened twice.

The Hurricanes will get an opportunity to bounce back at home at the end of this week. Miami will take on ACC foes Georgia Tech and Clemson on Friday night and Sunday afternoon respectively.

Adam Berger may be contacted aberger@themiamihurricane.com.