Virginia Volleyball || Turner’s Career Day Not Enough in Five-Set Loss to North Carolina

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia outside hitter Grace Turner tied her career high of 23 kills and posted a career-best six service aces, but the Cavaliers fell in five sets (25-22, 25-20, 15-25, 14-25, 14-16) to North Carolina in Memorial Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon. In addition to her 23 kills and six aces, Turner finished Sunday’s contest with seven digs, three block assists and was 27-for-27 in serve-receive.

With the win, North Carolina improved to 9-4 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, while the Cavaliers slipped to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in league matches.

After dropping the first two sets, the Tar Heels came back to win three straight games and staring down a match point for UVA in the fifth. The loss was Virginia’s second requiring five sets on the weekend, having dropped another heartbreaker to NC State just two days ago (Sept. 23).

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After trailing 10-4 early on in set No. 1, the Cavaliers fought their way back to win it, 25-22. Turner was behind the service line for four consecutive UVA points amid a 5-0 run by the Cavaliers to cut the UNC lead to 10-9. Later, back-to-back UVA points delivered its first lead of the game, 15-14. A kill by middle blocker Veresia Yon broke a 16-16 tie a few plays later and from there the Cavaliers held on to the lead for the remainder of the frame. Yon’s third kill of the set capped the first in favor of the Cavaliers.
• In the second, Virginia put together one of its best sets of the season, after winning, 25-20. Trailing 16-15, the Cavaliers broke the game open after tallying five straight points to secure a 20-16 lead. Virginia went on to score the final three points of the set while achieving a .321 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Cavaliers were perfect in serve-receive, successfully handling all 18 UNC serves during the set. Middle blocker Abby Tadder, who finished with a match-high six block assists, led UVA with three block assists in the second as UVA totaled 4.0 blocks in the set, while the Tar Heels had none. Turner posted six kills on seven swings in game No. 2 in addition to a pair of aces.
• Coming out of the break, North Carolina leaped out to a 14-5 lead. The Cavaliers started to settle in towards the middle of the…