Nov. 23, 2002

Box Score

ATLANTA-The top-seeded Tar Heels fell to fourth-seeded Florida State 30-23, 30-25, 30-23 in the semifinals of the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in O'Keefe Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

Florida State (21-12) handed the 29-3 Tar Heels a loss for the second time this season, with the Seminoles winning the first meeting 3-2 in Tallahassee, Fla. The Seminoles hit .338 in the match as only the second team to hit .300 or better vs. Carolina this season.

Senior outside hitter Laura Greene recorded 17 kills to lead the Tar Heels, while sophomore outside hitter Molly Pyles recorded 12 digs to lead the team.

Erica Bunch lead the Seminoles with 21 kills, while first-team All-ACC selection Kristin Frye notched 13 kills.

Florida State's Bunch notched eight kills while hitting .467 in the first game leading her team to a 30-23 win. Greene and Pyles each notched five kills for the Tar Heels, but the team hit just .158 in the game. The Seminoles began with an early lead, 12-7, but Carolina battled back to within two at 10-12. Florida State answered with a 5-0 run from which the Tar Heels never recovered in the game.

In the second game, Frye and Bunch led the Seminoles with seven and six kills, respectively, to lead Florida State to a .308 hitting percentage in the game. Florida State built an early 12-8 lead, but kills by Greene and junior middle hitter Aletha Green and a Florida State attack error cut the margin to one. The Tar Heels tied the score at 13-13,14-14 and 15-15 before FSU battled back to a 20-16 lead. Three straight kills by Greene got that Tar Heels to just a 19-20 margin, but Florida State held on down the stretch, 30-25.

The third game was much of the same, with Florida State controlling the pace of play on its way to a 30-23 win. Bunch recorded seven kills while leading the team to a .388 hitting percentage. The Seminoles built a 3-0 lead and would not look back, despite six kills by Greene the Tar Heels would never lead in the game.

Florida State advances to play in the final of the tournament Sunday at 3:30 p.m. live on Fox Sports South, The Sunshine Network and Comcast Sports Net. The Tar Heels are next in action Friday, Nov. 29 in Carmichael Auditorium hosting Marquette at 2 p.m.