Oct. 27, 2002

Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--No. 11 North Carolina dropped its first Atlantic Coast Conference match of the season Sunday, falling to Florida State 30-26, 30-26, 27-30, 22-30, 6-15 in a rematch of the 2001 Conference Championship match.

The loss was only the Tar Heels second of the season and snapped a 13-match winning streak for Carolina (21-2, 8-1). Senior outside hitter Laura Greene led the Tar Heels with 21 kills, 16 digs and three aces.

Junior middle hitter Aletha Green was second on the team with13 kills and senior outside hitter Malaika Underwood added 11 digs. Senior setter Eve Rackham recorded 55 assists in the match, despite missing the start of the fifth game with an injury to her jaw.

After opening the match with two strong wins, Florida State (16-7, 7-3) took the final three games to secure victory to remain undefeated in Tully Gymnasium this season. The Tar Heels hit .329 in the two wins, while hitting .170 in the three loses. Florida State, which held a 13-7 advantage on the block, .367 in the three games it won, including hitting .545 in the decisive fifth game.

The Tar Heels hit .357 in the first game, led by sophomore outside hitter Molly Pyles with five kills. Carolina took the first point on a block by Greene and Green, and the Seminoles tied the match at 1-1 and 2-2 before Green and Underwood combined on a block to give the visitors the lead until Florida State tied the score at 19-19. Pyles recorded two of the Tar Heels last four points on kills as Carolina won the game 30-26.

Greene came out firing in the second game, leading the Tar Heels to a 30-26 victory with eight kills. A rare kill by sophomore Caroline deRoeck gave Carolina a 10-7 lead, but FSU battled back to tie the score at 15-15. A Rackham kill made the score 16-15 and the Tar Heels held on from that point for a 2-0 advantage.

The Tar Heels are next in action this Friday and Saturday, hosting No. 24 Georgia Tech and Clemson on back-to-back nights.