Volleyball Downs NC State, 3-1

Wednesday, October 20

Chapel Hill

8 PM

North Carolina

16-4,5-4ACC

NC State

11-9,5-4ACC

NC State

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 21, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Freddy Stanley, Carolina Athletic Communications

The Carolina volleyball team earned their fifth straight victory on Wednesday night, defeating NC State 3-1 in Carmichael Arena.

Four Heels finished the match with double-digit kills, while the Tar Heels hit .329 as a team.

Mabrey Shaffmaster led both teams with 19 kills and 21.0 points, her 10th game with double-digit kills this season. The freshman also recorded a double-double, with 19 kills and 11 assists.

Meghan Neelon recorded a season-best 50 assists, more than doubling any other player in the match. Karenna Wurl had 25 digs, a new career-best, while recording three aces from the service line. Amanda Phegley also had a team-high five blocks at the net.

This is Carolina's fourth straight victory over the Wolfpack. The Tar Heels improve to 91-32 in the all-time series over NC State.

How it Happened (25-11, 22-25, 25-12, 25-22)
The Tar Heels came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, scoring nine straight points to open the match. The Wolfpack was able to find their footing midway through, but another big run by the Heels, a run of six unanswered points, was able to put the set away 25-11.

The Tar Heels first set dominance came behind six kills and two blocks by Shaffmaster. Emily Zinger led both teams with a .833 hitting percentage, while adding five kills of her own.

The second set was much more competitive, with six lead changes and 11 tie scores. The Wolfpack was able to heat up down the stretch and win the set 25-22. Carolina hit .000 in the set, their worst of the match, compared to .171 from NC State.

Carolina returned to first set form in the third, with another dominant performance. After opening the set on a 12-4 run, the Heels continued to dominate the set. Three Heels had five or more kills each in the set, led by Nia Parker-Robinson with seven, Shaffmaster with six and Zinger with five.

The fourth set was a gritty battle from the first point, with neither team able to pull away. There were five lead changes and 16 ties in the set. Shaffmaster continued to dominate on offense, adding six more kills to her tally.

After NC State tied it up at 21, back-to-back Carolina kills, followed by Marissa Meyerhoefer's second collegiate service ace, put the Heels up 24-21. Kaya Merkler delivered the match point kill, her fifth of the set and 11th of the game.

The Tar Heels improve to 16-4 (5-4 ACC) on the season, the first time Carolina has had 16 wins in a season since 2016.

Hear from Coach Sagula:
On tonight's victory…
"NC State is a very good team. They play hard; they have some great players. I have a lot of respect for how hard they played. I'm even prouder of our team and how resilient they were and how they fought back and matched them."

On how the team has improved in the last five games…
"I think the entire team has decided to stay aggressive in every part of the game. We're aggressive on offense, aggressive on defense and we're healthier. We almost have our full roster and that has helped us quite a bit. But the mentalities of these girls are to stay aggressive and take big swings at times. I think that mindset has put us in a good spot."