Volleyball Edges Out Clemson For A 3-2 Road Victory

Sunday, October 31

Clemson, S.C.

1 PM

North Carolina

Clemson

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 31, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

CLEMSON, S.C. – Behind four Tar Heels in double-digit kills, the Carolina volleyball team earned their third five-set victory of the season on Sunday afternoon over the Clemson Tigers, 3-2.

Freshman Mabrey Shaffmaster tallied a team-best 20 kills to go with 12 digs, her sixth double-double-double of the season, while Amanda Phegley set a new career-best with 16 kills on .481 hitting.

Meghan Neelon matched her career-best of 59 assists with 13 digs, while Olivia Diaz contributed a match-high 18 digs. Freshman Marissa Meyerhoefer made her first career start in the matchup.

As a team, the Heels held the attacking advantage over the Tigers .290 to .272 and matched a season-best of nine service aces, led by four from Ryan Shannon, which also matched her career-high.

Set One - Carolina: 25 Clemson: 17
The Heels started the match off strong, hitting .433 in the first set, while holding Clemson to a .182 clip. Kaya Merkler and Mabrey Shaffmaster led the offense with five kills each, while Ryan Shannon had two service aces. There was just one lead change in the set and four ties.

Set Two - Carolina: 23, Clemson: 25
The Heels never led in the second set, with the Tigers out hitting Carolina .324 to 263. Carolina was able to make it a one-point set, 24-23, late, but Clemson evened up the match at one all with back-to-back points. Nia Parker-Robinson and Shaffmaster each had four kills in the set.

Set Three - Carolina: 25, Clemson: 23
Amanda Phegley was the difference for Carolina in set three, tallying five kills on .833 hitting. Despite the Heels leading for most of the set, the Tigers were able to take a 22-20 advantage late. A 5-1 run to end the set gave Carolina a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Set Four – Carolina: 20, Clemson: zz25
Set four was plagued by errors for Carolina, with the team hitting just .103. With eight tie scores and three lead changes, Clemson took the set victory on an 8-3 run to end the set. Phegley had a team-best four kills in the frame.

Set Five – Carolina: 16, Clemson: 14
With Carolina up 14-12 in the final set, Clemson was able to stave off set point twice to tie it up at 14. A Shaffmaster kill followed by a Tiger attack error gave UNC win No. 18 on the season.

Up Next
The Heels return to Carmichael Arena for two matches this week. Carolina hosts Notre Dame on Friday 7 p.m., before hosting No. 2 Louisville at 1 p.m. on Sunday.