Volleyball Falls to No. 2 Louisville in Four Sets

Sunday, November 7

Chapel Hill

1 PM

North Carolina

18-7,7-7ACC

Louisville

23-0,13-0ACC

Louisville

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 7, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL – Despite dominating the first set of the match, the Carolina volleyball team fell to No. 2 Louisville on Sunday afternoon. For the second straight match, Nia Parker-Robinson led the team in kills with 15, to go with a team-best two service aces.

Skyy Howard and Kaya Merkler each tallied four total blocks, while setters Annabelle Archer (14) and Meghan Neelon (19) each finished with double-digit assists.

As a team, Carolina (18-7, 7-7 ACC) was outhit .167 to .248, while Louisville (23-0, 13-0 ACC) recorded 13 blocks to eight from the Heels.

How it Happened:
Set One – Carolina: 25, Louisville: 14
In set one, the Tar Heels hit a match-best .438, while holding the Cardinals to a .000 attacking percentage. Carly Peck and Nia Parker-Robinson set the tone early, opening the set with back-to-back kills. After leading for the entirety of the set, the Heels went on a 13-2 run to cap off the first set victory.

Set Two - Carolina: 11, Louisville: 25
As much as Carolina dominated the first set, it was Louisville who dominated set two. The Cardinals opened the set on a 5-0 run, before back-to-back errors made it a 5-2 game. Despite Carolina chipping away at some of the lead, Louisville, behind .333 hitting, held the lead for the whole set. Parker-Robinson had a team-high three kills in set two.

Set Three - Carolina: 18, Louisville: 25
With three ties, set three proved to be the most competitive set of the day. With the Cardinals up 10-9 midway through the set, a Kaya Merkler kill tied the set up at 10. From there, Louisville went on a 11-1 run to take the lead for good. Louisville hit .407 to Carolina's .000, while tallying eight block assists. Mabrey Shaffmaster, who finished the match with 12 kills, had four in set three.

Set Four - Carolina: 17, Louisville: 25
Louisville went ahead early and stay ahead in set four, opening the set on a 4-1 run. The Cardinals, who hit .269 in set four, had to contend with a 6-2 run from the Heels at the end of the set to make it 20-17, before going on a 5-0 run to seal the victory.

Up Next
Carolina travels to Virginia for two road matchups. First the Heels take on Virginia Tech on Nov. 12, before traveling to Virginia for a 3 p.m. Nov. 14 match.