Nov. 1, 2002

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-No. 13 North Carolina extended its home winning streak to 11 games by defeating No. 23 Georgia Tech 3-2 in Carmichael Auditorium Friday night. The Tar Heels improved to 22-2 (9-1) with a 30-27, 30-27, 28-30, 27-30, 15-2 victory.

The match was the 100th win for seniors Eve Rackham, Laura Greene, Holly Strauss and Malaika Underwood. The quartet has played at Carolina together for all four years of their collegiate careers.

Greene led the Tar Heels with 26 kills and 28 digs from her outside hitter position, while sophomore outside hitter Molly Pyles notched career highs with 23 kills and 27 digs. Rackham recorded 69 assists as Carolina defeated Tech in five games for the second time this season.

Underwood and Rackham each recorded 16 digs each, while Strauss recorded 11 kills along with junior middle hitter Aletha Green adding 13 kills.

After winning the first two games, Carolina fell to the Yellow Jackets in the third and fourth game to force a fifth game. Georgia Tech came out to a 10-5 lead in the fifth, but a pair of kills by Pyles and a crucial block by Green and red-shirt freshman Camilla Ihenetu led the Tar Heels on a 6-1 run to tie the score. Georgia Tech went up 12-11, but a kill by Greene, a lift call against the Yellow Jackets, a block by Rackham and sophomore Katie Wright and finally a kill by Pyles clinched the match in favor of the home team.

In the first two games of the match, Pyles and Greene combined for 25 kills, including 10 by Greene in the second game. The third game was back and forth until the teams were deadlocked at 28-28, with Georgia Tech squeezing out a 30-28 victory with consecutive points. Georgia Tech surged to a 26-14 lead, but Carolina battled back with a 13-4 run that fell just short when the Yellow Jackets blocked a Pyles' attack for the 30th point.

For the match, the Tar Heels held the conference's top hitting team to a .191 percentage, 99 points lower than the team's average. The team also held the conference kills leader Lynnette Moster to 3.20 kills per game, below her average of 5.41.

Alexandra Preiss led the Yellow Jackets with 22 kills, followed by Moster and Jayme Gergen with 16 kills each. Moster also had a team-high 22 digs while setter Kele Eveland picked up 72 assists on the night.

The Tar Heels are next in action Saturday at 6 p.m. hosting Clemson.