WVU volleyball (2-2) lost its first game of the Duke/North Carolina volleyball tournament 3-0 (25-17 / 25-18 / 25-21) to North Carolina (3-1) on Thursday afternoon in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels cruised to an easy win in the first set in which WVU committed six errors on its own side of the court. The Mountaineers tallied 13 errors in the game, which was fewer than UNC’s 18.

Junior outside hitter Hailey Green provided a spark in the second set with three kills in an effort that kept WVU neck-and-neck with the Tar Heels, but UNC ran away with a 25-18 victory in the second set.

The Mountaineers best performance came in the third set in which they led at multiple points of the set. They were within three points of the Tar Heels at the afternoon’s match point, but UNC finished the match with a 25-21 win in the third set.

Freshman middle blocker Maddy McGath led WVU with seven kills on the evening. Setter Lauren DeLo recorded 23 assists. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Gooch led all Mountaineers with nine digs.

WVU returns to tournament action tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Durham against Loyola. The Mountaineers will wrap up the early-season tournament with a game against Duke on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.