Dec. 13, 2002

Box Score |  Quotes

LINCOLN, Neb. - No. 11 North Carolina fell to the second-ranked Rainbow Wahine of the University of Hawai'i 3-0 (30-21, 30-23, 30-22) in the Central Regional of the NCAA Volleyball tournament Friday in the NU Coliseum. The Rainbow Wahine's high powered offense hit .345 in the match, while their defense put up 77 digs to hold the Tar Heels to a .161 hitting percentage.

"I am proud of how our team stayed with it tonight," 13th-year head coach Joe Sagula said. "Our spirit was good-we kept playing. I am proud of how our team played-especially the seniors with the leadership they provided this year."

Senior outside hitter Laura Greene led the Tar Heels with 14 kills and sophomore outside Molly Pyles added 11. Sophomore libero Caroline deRoeck recorded 15 digs to lead the Tar Heels, while senior outside Malaika Underwood and senior setter Eve Rackham added 14 and 11, respectively. Rackham had a match-high 32 assists for Carolina.

Hawai'i (31-1) was led by outside hitter Kim Willoughby who recorded 22 kills and 16 digs while hitting .500 in the match. Outside Lily Kahumoku added 16 kills and 11 digs.

"Their defense was great-let alone how Willoughby and Kahumoku were." Sagula said. "We knew they were going to be tough and they were. Willoughby hit .500 during the NCAA Tournament, so her team is probably going to be pretty successful. "

Three kills by Greene and four by Pyles let the Carolina offense hang with the Rainbow Wahine attack in the first game, with Hawai'i holding on to a 20-17 lead. A 6-0 Hawai'i run built a nine-point lead that the Tar Heels could not overcome, falling 30-21 in the first game. Greene finished the game with six kills and Pyles added five, but Carolina was out-hit .429-.229. Kahumoku led the Rainbow Wahine with eight kills and Willoughby added seven, as the All-America duo hit .438 and .462 respectively.

The second game was a tight battle, but 33 digs and five blocks by Hawai'i held the Tar Heels to a .048 hitting percentage and gave the Rainbow Wahine a 30-23 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Hawai'i offense was fueled by 10 Willoughby kills. The teams were tied at 19-19 when Willoughby capped one of the longest rallies of the match with a kill, just after Carolina's deRoeck made the dig of the match on a Willoughby attack. The Tar Heels came back on a kill by Underwood to tie the score at 20-20, but the Rainbow Wahine put the game away with a 10-3 run down the stretch.

Carolina fell behind on the first point and despite five kills by Pyles and four my Underwood, the Tar Heels fell 30-22 when a Maja Gustin kill found the floor in the middle of the Carolina defense. The left-side duo of Willoughby and Kahumoku hit .550 with 11 kills and no errors to lead the Rainbow Wahine.

Carolina ends the season with a 32-4 overall record. Hawai'i advances to play the winner of the Nebraska vs. Miami match played at 8 p.m. ET Friday.