Nov. 20, 2008

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina volleyball team moved one step closer to the ACC Championship Thursday night in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels claimed a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-16) win over second place Miami (24-6, 12-6 ACC) to pull within one win of their first ACC title since 2005. Suzanne Haydel and Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland tallied 15 kills apiece in leading Carolina (20-9, 14-4 ACC) to its first 20-win season since 2005. The Tar Heels will look to claim a share of the ACC title on Friday when they host Florida State on senior night.

Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland imposed herself on the match right away as she delivered seven first set kills in leading Carolina to a tight 25-23 win. The Tar Heels hit .271 in the opening set as the lead changed hands four times and was tied on 12 occasions, including at 23-23 before Haydel and Heather Brooks delivered back-to-back kills to take the opening set 25-23. The first set was the epitome of a close battle as neither team held more than a two-point advantage throughout and came down to the bitter end. The Tar Heels hit .271 in the win, while holding Miami to a .149 mark.

Miami would bounce back in the second set with an identical 25-23 win, jumping out to an 18-12 lead before holding off a late Carolina charge. The teams were tied 10-10 before the Hurricanes went on an 8-2 run taking advantage of a pair of Tar Heel blocking errors and a pair of their own blocks. The final seven points for Miami would be difficult to garner as Courtney Johnston tallied four kills down the stretch to keep the Heels chances alive. The lead would be too much to overcome, however, as a kill by Suzanne Haydel to make the score 24-23 before Angelica Ellis put away a kill to avoid the collapse and even the match at 1-1 heading into the break.

With the potential to be a momentum changing set head coach Joe Sagula mixed up his lineup and it worked in the Tar Heels favor as middle blocker Christine Vaughen delivered five kills with no errors in leading Carolina to a 25-21 win. Set three was a bit more of an offensive battle as both teams finished with hitting percentages over .230 with Carolina leading the way at .261. The key factor for the Tar Heels was their ability to keep Miami from making any runs by converting 71 percent of their sideout opportunities. The early part of the set was similar to the opening sets but with the score knotted at 15-15 Carolina upped its level of play taking a 17-15 lead thanks to three straight kills by Lauren Prussing. Miami would keep it close, pulling within one late at 22-21 before Johnston tallied a kill and combined with Vaughen for a block before a Miami ball handling error capped off the 25-21 win and put Carolina a set away from the win.

The sophomore Haydel came to play when the Heels needed her most in the fourth set as she tallied a set-high five kills with zero errors in leading Carolina to a .314 hitting percentage and a commanding 25-18 win. Fellow outside hitter Lauren Prussing added four kills of her own in the final set in which the Tar Heels jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back. The Hurricanes would pull within three at 10-7 but it would mark the closest they would get the rest of the night as Carolina put itself into position to claim a share of the ACC title Friday night against Florida State.

Brianna Eskola's march towards the ACC career digs crown took another giant step forward Thursday night as she finished with 32 sets for an average of 8.0 per set. Eskola now has 2,182 digs in her four-year career and will need 19 to set the ACC record with two matches remaining. Haydel turned in another double-double performance with 16 digs to go along with her 15 kills and was joined in the double-digit dig club by freshman Kaylie Gibson who finished with 12 on the night. Senior setter Stephanie Jansma continued her stellar play of late with 46 assists on the night.

Carolina will celebrate the careers of its four seniors Friday night prior to the Tar Heels tilt against Florida State at 7 p.m. in the Dean E. Smith Center.