NEW YORK – No. 18 Carolina Volleyball fell in four (16-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-27) to Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels fall to 4-2 on the season.
Vanderbilt took set one by hitting .522 compared to the Tar Heels hitting just .042. They went up 15-10 at the first media break and never let him, taking the first 25-16.
The Tar Heels bounced back with a gritty second set taking it 26-24 in large part due to Laynie Smith and Hailey Pearce. Down 15-12 at the media break, the Tar Heels used a 4-0 run to snag the lead. Vandy would regain the lead and have set point at 24-23 but a 3-0 UNC run closed things out to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set started fast for Carolina, using a 4-0 run thanks to two Jackie Taylor aces to build a lead. Vandy eventually tied it up at 11-11 and took a lead thanks to a 5-0 run to go up 17-14 forcing a Carolina timeout. Out of the timeout the Commodores scored the next three to take a commanding lead and ultimately take the set 25-19.
The fourth was a back and fourth affair that saw Vanderbilt take it 27-25.
Safi Hampton led Carolina with 11 kills and Jackie Taylor led with eight blocks. Laynie Smith and Chelsea Thorpe each had nine kills.
Next the Tar Heels head to Nebraska to take on No. 1 Nebraska and FGCU.
