Tar Heels take the No. 3-ranked Nittany Lions to five games.
The North Carolina volleyball team lost a five-game match to the third ranked Penn State Saturday in the final game of the Penn State Invitational in State College, Pa. The teams alternated wins in the first four games, with the Tar Heels winning the second and fourth games by identical scores of 30-28 and Penn State taking the first and third games by scores of 30-17 and 30-25. In the deciding game, however, Tar Heel setter Eve Rackham suffered a sprained ankle with the score knotted 2-2, which caused the flow of Carolina's offense to falter. Without Rackham in the lineup, the Nittany Lions proved too tough as they pulled out a 15-9 win to give them the 3-2 victory.
Carolina's outside hitters, Nicole Reis, Laura Greene and Holly Strauss, led the Tar Heels in kills with 27, 17 and 10. Greene also led the squad in digs with 14, while Reis added 12. Middle hitter Krista Buchholz was dominant at the net, recording nine blocks including two solo blocks for coach Joe Sagula's Tar Heels.
Rackham totaled 55 sets before leaving the match in the fifth game. Rackham will not play in the Heels' next match at Davidson Tuesday night, but is expected to return to the lineup for the Santa Clara Tournament Sept. 8-9.
With the loss, Carolina falls to 2-1 for the season, while Penn State improves to 3-0. The Tar Heels are back in action Tuesday when they travel to Davidson for a 7 p.m. contest.