Volleyball Defeats Duke in Straight Sets, 3-0

Friday, October 22

Chapel Hill

6 PM

North Carolina

17-4,6-4ACC

Duke

12-8,3-6ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Duke	21	13	19	0
North Carolina	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 22, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL – The Carolina volleyball team earned its sixth straight victory with a 3-0 victory over Duke in Carmichael Arena on Friday night, improving to 17-4 (6-4 ACC). It is the second time this season that the Heels have earned a three-set victory over the Blue Devils.

Mabrey Shaffmaster led Carolina with a match-best 13 kills to go with two service aces and three block assists. Kaya Merkler matched a career-best with seven block assists, hitting .417 with seven kills.

Skyy Howard accounted for both of Carolina's solo blocks, while Meghan Neelon had 30 assists, her eighth game of the season with 30 or more.

As a team, UNC hit .322, while holding the Blue Devils to a .195 attacking clip.

How it Happened (25-21, 25-13, 25-19)
Carolina jumped out to an early lead in the first set, leading by 13-6 in the midway point while racking up 10 kills. The Blue Devils were able to chip away at the lead, going on a 6-0 run to bring it within one point, 21-20. UNC was able to close out the set victory with two Shaffmaster kills, a Parker-Robinson kill and a block from Merkler and Emily Zinger. Shaffmaster and Parker-Robinson each had five kills in the set.

After Duke held a 5-3 advantage to open set two, Carolina's offense kicked into gear. The Heels hit a match-best .480 in the second set, while Duke hit .000. Shaffmaster added another four kills to her tally, while Olivia Diaz led UNC with six digs.

The third set was a battle that included six ties. After trading points and neither team able to establish separation, Carolina finally went ahead 8-5. Duke responded with a 3-0 run of its own to tie it up at 8. The Tar Heels pulled away for good with a 5-0 run in the middle of the set to lead 20-12. Kaya Merkler sealed the match with her seventh kill of the night.

Notables:

In the last two matches, Mabrey Shaffmaster has combined for 32 kills, 14 digs and three service aces
Four of UNC's last five matches have been Tar Heel sweeps
Carolina has won six of the last seven matchups with Duke

Up Next
Carolina hits the road next weekend for an Oct. 29 match at Georgia Tech, followed by a Oct. 31 match at Clemson.