Sept. 30, 2006

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CHAPEL HILL --- North Carolina suffered its fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference loss Saturday night, as the Tar Heels fell to Duke, 30-21, 30-16, 30-21, at Carmichael Auditorium. With the win, Duke claims half of the one point allotted to volleyball in the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sport competition between the two schools. The setback was Carolina's first home loss to the Blue Devils since 1997.

Duke (11-2, 4-0 ACC) was firing on all cylinders in game one, cruising to a 30-21 win. The Blue Devils hit .302 for the frame, led by Sue Carls' seven kills on 12 swings. The difference was a 12-2 run midway through the game that extended the Duke lead from one at 8-7 to 11 at 20-9. Heather Brooks paced Carolina (3-11, 1-4 ACC) in the game with five kills against just one attack error.

The Blue Devils took an early 5-1 lead in game two and never looked back, winning 30-16. Duke outhit Carolina .333 to -.021 and never trailed in the stanza. After Carolina's second timeout at 20-13, the Blue Devils closed the game with 10 of the final 13 points.

Carolina found itself in an early hole again in game three and was never able to recover. Duke opened the frame with a 7-1 run, and the Tar Heels got no closer than four at 13-9. The Tar Heels played their best volleyball of the night late in game three when they won 10 of 15 points to pull within five at 25-20. But the Blue Devils were up to the challenge, winning five of the final six points to seal the win, 30-21.

Rachel Moss led Duke with a match-high 15 kills, while Brooks and Megan Owens each had eight kills to lead Carolina.

Up next for Carolina is a road trip to Florida, where the Tar Heels will face Florida State and Miami. UNC meets the Seminoles Friday at 7 p.m.