Volleyball Earns Comeback Win Over Demon Deacons

Friday, March 19

Chapel Hill, N.C.

5 PM

North Carolina

9-4,8-3ACC

Wake Forest

0-11,0-10ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Wake Forest	25	21	16	20	1
North Carolina	19	25	25	25	3

March 19, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

CHAPEL HILL – Battling back from a first-set loss, North Carolina topped Wake Forest, 3-1, on Friday evening in Carmichael Arena.

Although the Demon Deacons managed a six-point win in the first set, 25-19, Carolina bounced back to win the next three sets for the 3-1 win. The Tar Heels out-blocked Wake Forest, 14.0-3.0 and closed the match with a .424 hitting percentage in set four.

Middles Skyy Howard and Kaya Merkler led UNC's attack with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Annabelle Archer assisted 39 kills while picking up three of her own. Olivia Diaz and Karenna Wurl split time as libero, tallying 10 and 18 digs, respectively. Niki Khoshatefeh steadied UNC at the tape with a career-best six blocks. Ryan Shannon paced UNC at the service line, dishing out four of Carolina's 10 aces.

Wake Forest balanced its offense between Caroline Kuhn , Ashley Slater and Zoe Gonzales who each tallied double-digit kills.

Carolina improves to 9-4 on the season, 8-3 in ACC play while Wake Forest falls to 0-11, 0-10 in conference.

Up next, UNC welcomes Notre Dame Sunday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day at Carmichael Arena.

How It Happened
Although the Tar Heels managed an early 4-1 lead, Wake Forest went on an 8-1 run that had UNC trailing by as many as five. Cutting the deficit to two, Wake Forest called a timeout at the 21-19 mark. However, four-straight kills clinched the 25-19 win for the Demon Deacons.

Carolina and Wake Forest traded points through the 9-9 mark in set two until UNC managed a 5-1 run. Although the Demon Deacons brought the score within one, back-to-back aces by Shannon extended UNC's lead to five. Carolina clinched the 25-21 win with a triple block by Amanda Phegley, Khoshatefeh and Howard.

UNC's momentum continued into the third set by jumping to an 11-3 lead. Both Emily Zinger and Shannon managed back-to-back aces in the Tar Heels' early run. Wake Forest brought the score within four thanks to a set-best of five kills by Kuhn, but UNC prevailed for the 25-16 win with a final kill by Merkler.

Wake Forest battled back in the fourth set, taking a 12-7 lead as Carolina called time. However, the Tar Heels posted four blocks as Wake Forest called time at the 17-16 mark after a Merkler-Khoshatefeh block. Although the Demon Deacons knotted the set at 18-all, a triple block by Howard, Zinger and Khoshatefeh forced a second timeout. Ending the match on a 5-1 run, a pair of kills by Howard cliched the 25-20 win.

Carolina Stat Leaders
» Kills: Skyy Howard (16)
» Hitting percentage: Skyy Howard (.353, 16 kills on 34 attempts)
» Assists: Annabelle Archer (39)
» Blocks: Niki Khoshatefeh (6)
» Digs: Karenna Wurl (18)
» Aces: Ryan Shannon (4)

Notable
» Carolina's 10 aces was the most since Sept. 6, 2019 when UNC had 11 at UC Irvine.
» Three Tar Heels set single-match career-bests: Skyy Howard (kills), Niki Khoshatefeh (blocks) and Ryan Shannon (aces).

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