Pepperdine Tops UNC 3-0 In NCAA Volleyball Second Round

No. 8 Waves win by scores of 30-27, 30-26, 30-23.

Nov. 30, 2001

The No. 8 ranked Pepperdine volleyball team defeated UNC 3-0 Friday night in NCAA second round action at Carmichael Auditorium to advance to regionals in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. With hard-fought wins of 30-27, 30-26, 30-23, Pepperdine improves to 23-3, while the Tar Heels finish their season at 24-9.

Kate Wilkins led Pepperdine with 18 kills. Melissa Snow and Paola Rodriguez each posted 16 kills for the Waves with Rodriguez adding 49 assists.

Holly Strauss led the Tar Heels in kills with 12, while Eve Rackham and Laura Greene each totaled 13 digs. Rackham led Carolina in assists with 34.

For the match, Pepperdine outhit the Tar Heels .291 to .205 and recorded 74 digs to the Carolina's 58.

Game one saw Pepperdine's Stacey Rouwenhorst total seven kills and a .462 hitting percentage to help the Waves turn a 26-26 tie into a 30-27 win. Strauss led the Tar Heels in game one with five kills and a .714 hitting percentage.

The Tar Heels battled back from a 14-22 deficit in game two to pull to within one at 22-23, but the Waves proved too strong down the stretch and took the game, 30-26. Wilkins totaled eight kills for Pepperdine in game two, while Strauss and Krista Buchholz each posted five kills for Carolina.

"The first two games could have gone either way," said Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies. "But to our credit, we've pushed through tough matches all year long. I like how our young kids, our freshmen and sophomores, responded and settled back down and competed. I was proud of them."

Wilkins and Rouwenhorst again led Pepperdine in game three, each totaling five kills to lead the Waves to the 30-23 win. Laura Greene posted five kills for the Tar Heels in the final game.

"I was very proud of how well our team played the entire night," said UNC coach Joe Sagula. "There were opportunities tonight where we could have rolled over, but we kept fighting back. I couldn't ask for a better way to finish our season than to be at home and see the respect that this team has earned for the sport of volleyball and the University of North Carolina."