Balanced Offense Lifts Volleyball Over NC State

Sunday, October 18

Raleigh, N.C.

1 PM

North Carolina

NC State

October 18, 2020 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. – A block by Amanda Phegley and Destiny Cox clinched North Carolina's four-set win over NC State on Sunday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C. to win both weekend matches.

Picking up where they left off on Friday, Carolina earned the 25-16 set one victory, highlighted by five kills from Cox. NC State's Jade Parchment paced the Wolfpack to the 25-16 set two with eight kills. Carolina steadied and responded to win the final two sets for the four set win, 25-23 and 25-17, respectively. The Tar Heels posted nine of their 14.0 total blocks for a season-best in the final two sets en route to the 3-1 win.

Phegley led Carolina at the net with eight blocks while Kaya Merkler and Parker Austin tallied six and seven, respectively. Both Phegley and Austin tallied 11 kills while Parker also registered 11 digs for a double-double. Carolina also matched its season best with seven aces, highlighted by two apiece from Maylen Mitrovich and Austin.

Parchment led the Wolfpack with 12 digs and 19 kills, including her 1,000th career kill.

The Tar Heels improve to 4-2 while NC State falls to 0-4. Up next, Carolina plans to host Virginia on a mutual bye weekend.

How It Happened
Carolina went on a five-point run early on in the match, featuring an ace by Austin. However, the Wolfpack responded with a three-point rally to knot the set at 6-6. The Tar Heels extended their lead to 19-11 with Mitrovich at the service line, dishing out a pair of aces in the five-point run. Both teams traded points until an NC State miscue gave UNC the 25-20 set one victory.

The Wolfpack bounced back in set two with a 25-16 victory. NC State went on a six-point run, leading through the media timeout 17-10, before Cox broke up the run with her sixth kill of the match. Carolina tallied five two-point runs throughout the set and a late ace by Aziah Buckner forced the Wolfpack to call time. However, NC State continued on to tie the match at 1-1.

Picking up where it left off, NC State claimed the 9-7 lead on a four-point run as the Tar Heels called time early. Fighting back from a five-point deficit, Austin's seventh kill of the match brought Carolina within two as the Wolfpack used its first timeout. With Karenna Wurl back to serve, the Tar Heels went on a four-point run to knot the set at 18-all. One of Phegley's four kills in the set from Annabelle Archer put Carolina at set point before an NC State service error gave UNC the 25-23 win and 2-1 set advantage.

With Buckner back to serve, the Tar Heels went on a five-point run for a 13-7 advantage. Cox, Merkler and Austin teamed up for a triple block that forced NC State to call its second timeout. However, the Wolfpack managed a 5-1 run capped off with a kill by Parchment. UNC held strong, closing out the match with a pair of three-point runs. A block by Cox and Phegley clinched the 25-17 set four win and four-set victory over NC State as UNC hit .406 to close out the match.

Carolina Stat Leaders
» Kills: Amanda Phegley (11), Parker Austin (11)
» Hitting percentage: Amanda Phegley (.529, 11 kills)
» Assists: Maylen Mitrovich (28)
» Blocks: Amanda Phegley (8)
» Digs: Karenna Wurl (22)

Notable
» Carolina tallied double-digit blocks for the second consecutive match with 14.0.

Stay up to date with Carolina Volleyball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.