Sept. 5, 1999

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - After winning a tough five-game match earlier in the afternoon against the University of Illinois, the Tar Heels rebounded from a two-game deficit to defeat the University of Massachusetts, 3-2, Saturday night at the Long Beach State Tournament.

UNC improved to 2-2, while Massachusetts fell to 0-3. Tori Seibert led Carolina with 15 kills, followed by Casey Simpson with 14, Asa Gustavsson with 13 and Shannon Smith with 11 kills and six blocks.

In the pivotal game five, the Tar Heels jumped to an early 6-1 lead that increased to 11-4, before the 15-7 win of the game and match. Umass came out quickly at the beginning of the match taking a two-game lead 15-7 and 15-5. The Tar Heels regrouped, however, and took games three and four, hitting .536 in game three and earning five points from blocks. Game four was won when Carolina won seven straight points after an 8-8 tie.

UNC's next match will continue the parade of ranked teams as they travel to Wisconsin to face No. 8 Florida on Sept. 10 and then will play either Dayton or No. 9 Wisconsin.

               Game 1   Game2   Game 3   Game 4   Game 5
Massachusetts   15       15       6        8        7      
North Carolina   7       5       15       15       15