IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine dropped a 3-1 decision to North Carolina (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22) at the UCI/adidas Invitational held at the Bren Events Center Friday evening.

Abby Marjama posted a career-high 18 kills to lead UCI, but it was not enough as the Tar Heels topped the Anteaters in hitting percentage (.300-.215), aces (11-2) and blocks (12.5-6.0). UCI goes to 1-4 overall, while North Carolina picks up their first win of the season (1-3).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Marjama also had a season-high 13 digs to lead the Anteaters
>Loryn Carter posted double-digit kills with 11
>Freshman outside hitter Carrissa MacDonald made her Anteater debut with seven kills, hitting .462 (7-1-13)
>Parker Austin (22) and Destiny Cox (14) led UNC in kills, while Karenna Wurl had five aces

TURNING POINTS
FIRST SET
>North Carolina had an 7-3 lead before UCI used three Tar Heel miscues and kill by Makayla Wolfe to close to 8-7
>Three Anteater attack errors followed giving UNC the 11-7 advantage
>The Tar Heels would never lose control, taking the set on an ace, 25-19

SECOND SET
>A 5-1 spurt which featured four Abby Marjama kills narrowed the Anteater deficit to 14-13 and forcing a North Carolina timeout
>Out of the timeout, UNC would score four in a row, 18-13
>A kill and block assist by Joy Umeh sparked the Anteaters to 23-19, but UCI would run out of time as UNC took the set 25-20

THIRD SET
>UCI came out strong in the third set with a 5-1 lead, helped by a kill from Onye Ofoegbu and an ace by Marjama
>A lineup with five newcomers, four of them freshman ignited the Anteaters to a 13-8 lead
>Ahead 22-17, UCI watched North Carolina score three consecutive points to narrow the margin to 23-20, but a kill by Carrissa MacDonald stopped the momentum
>A UNLV block brought the UCI lead to 23-22 before a kill by Carter was followed by a UNC kill and service error, handing UCI the set 25-23
>MacDonald was on fire, recording six kills on eight attempts to help the Anteaters to the victory

FOURTH SET
>A 5-1 run pushed UNC out to a 7-4 advantage
>UCI rallied down, 17-12 on kills by Marjama and Wolfe to get to 17-16, only to watch three consecutive Tar Heel blocks and a pair of aces opening back a 23-17 UNC advantage
>A kill by Destiny Cox would end the set 25-22 and the match 3-1
 
NOTES
>Sophia Skukan also made her Anteater debut recording three digs

UP NEXT
>UC Irvine will conclude the tournament tomorrow night against Cal at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center
>UNLV and Cal will play at 10:00 a.m. followed by North Carolina and UNLV at 4:00 p.m. before the Anteater match