Oct. 10, 2002

Box Score

Chapel Hill, N.C.-North Carolina head coach Joe Sagula picked up his 100th career Atlantic Coast Conference win as the No. 11 Tar Heels defeated Duke 30-22, 20-30, 30-23, 30-28 in Carmichael Auditorium.

Sophomore outside hitter Molly Pyles matched a career high with 18 kills and set a career high with 17 digs, while senior outside hitter Laura Greene had 15 kills and a match-high 18 digs. Junior middle hitter Aletha Green matched a career high with 11 kills - including six in the decisive fourth game.

Carolina went into game four with a 2-1 edge, but Duke would not go quietly. The Blue Devils took an early 2-0 lead, but the Tar Heels battled back to stay in the match. With Carolina trailing 9-10, Greene drilled a kill off of Duke's Meghan Brown that went 10 rows deep in the stands, sending a crowd of 952 to their feet. A Green kill for the next point gave the Tar Heels their first lead at 11-10. The teams would battle back and forth, with the score later tied at 19-19. Duke ran off a streak of nine kills without an error, but the Tar Heels matched point for point until the visitors built a 26-28 lead. Carolina would finish on a 4-0 run to take the match on kills by Greene, Green and senior outside hitter Malaika Underwood and an attack error by Duke.

In the first game, Duke came out with the first point of the match, but Carolina tied things back up with a sideout on a kill by senior middle Holly Strauss. The Tar Heels continued to build a lead, going up 10-5 on a hitting error by Duke's Jill Sonne. A kill by Pyles made the score 15-9, later a Strauss kill made the score 20-14 and prompted Blue Devils' head coach Jolene Nagel to take a timeout. Duke took the first point after the timeout, but Strauss combined with Underwood on a block to hold the six-point advantage. The Tar Heels continued to roll, with Green sealing the UNC win with a kill on the 30th point. Carolina was led by Pyles in the game, who picked up eight kills on 12 attempts and no errors.

In Game 2, Pyles put the Tar Heels up 1-0 with a cross court kill, but it was all Blue Devils from there. Carolina hit .000 and Duke hit .371 for a 30-20 win to even the match at 1-1.

Carolina took a 2-1 lead in the third game with a 30-23 win. The Tar Heels began the game with a 6-1 run and from there the team's lead would never fall to less than three. With UNC leading 17-14, Underwood capped an 8-1 run with a kill for a 25-15 lead. Pyles would have a pair of kills down the stretch before Greene put the game away 30-23 with a kill.

The win gives North Carolina 1.5 points in the Carlyle Cup, the all sports competition between the two universities. The season series for the Cup is now tied at 3-3.

Carolina is next in action Friday at 7:30 p.m., kicking off Midnight With The Tar Heels action hosting Wake Forest.