University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, September 3
Chapel Hill, N.C.
7 PM
North Carolina
4-0,0-0ACC
3
vs
2
Colorado State
0-3,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
5
F
Colorado St.
25
25
16
23
15
2
North Carolina
21
19
25
25
17
3
The Tar Heels react to scoring a point against Colorado State.
Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim
Volleyball Rallies Back For 3-2 Victory Over Colorado State
September 4, 2021 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL – The Tar Heels claimed their fourth straight victory of the season on Friday night in dramatic fashion, coming back from a two-set deficit to earn a 3-2 victory over Colorado State in Carmichael Arena.
Mabrey Shaffmaster led the match with 22 kills, a new record in the young career of the freshman outside hitter, while Nia Parker-Robinson racked up 21. Meghan Neelon led the team with 44 assists and Kaya Merkler recorded four blocks to go with nine kills.
Merkler, who came into the weekend with the third-highest hitting percentage in the ACC, led the team with a .389 clip.
After dropping a back-and-forth 25-21 first set where Carolina (4-0) had a .323 hitting clip to the Rams' .276, the Tar Heel offense was stifled in the second set. Hitting a season-low .194 hitting percentage, Carolina went down 25-19 to Colorado State (0-3). When it looked like the Rams might run away with a three-set sweep, the Heels kicked into gear.
Carolina opened set three on an 8-1 run, highlighted by a kill from each Parker-Robinson and Shaffmaster. The Rams cut it to a 13-8 Carolina lead midway through the set, before back-to-back-to-back kills from Shaffmaster, Parker-Robinson and Amanda Phegley put the Heels ahead 16-8. Carolina was able to secure the set victory with its highest hitting percentage in a set this season (.406) and seven kills from Shaffmaster.
In the fourth, both teams traded points to open the set before Colorado State was able to take the edge and the 10-6 lead. After Carolina called timeout to regroup, the team went on a 7-2 run, and were able to get back into within one point of the lead, 13-12.
It remained a one-point game until back-to-back kills from Parker-Robinson and Shaffmaster gave Carolina the 25-23 fourth set win.
In the fifth, Carolina held the lead for the majority of the set until the Rams came back to tie it up at 13. Colorado had match point twice, but both times a kill from Kaya Merkler gave the Tar Heels new life. An ace from Merkler and a kill from Robinson helped keep UNC a perfect 4-0 on the season with a 17-15 win in the final set.
NOTABLES
» Shaffmaster was the first Tar Heel to record 20 or more kills in a match since Parker Austin had 23 against Syracuse on March 5, 2021
» This is Carolina's first five-set victory since defeating No. 18 Notre Dame on March 21, 2021
» Tonight's win gave Carolina its first victory over the Rams in program history. CSU leads the series 3-1
UP EXT
The Tar Heels host Woffard at 12 p.m. and ECU at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Carmichael Arena. Both matches will be streamed on ACC Network Plus. Admission is free.
Mabrey Shaffmaster led the match with 22 kills, a new record in the young career of the freshman outside hitter, while Nia Parker-Robinson racked up 21. Meghan Neelon led the team with 44 assists and Kaya Merkler recorded four blocks to go with nine kills.
Merkler, who came into the weekend with the third-highest hitting percentage in the ACC, led the team with a .389 clip.
After dropping a back-and-forth 25-21 first set where Carolina (4-0) had a .323 hitting clip to the Rams' .276, the Tar Heel offense was stifled in the second set. Hitting a season-low .194 hitting percentage, Carolina went down 25-19 to Colorado State (0-3). When it looked like the Rams might run away with a three-set sweep, the Heels kicked into gear.
Carolina opened set three on an 8-1 run, highlighted by a kill from each Parker-Robinson and Shaffmaster. The Rams cut it to a 13-8 Carolina lead midway through the set, before back-to-back-to-back kills from Shaffmaster, Parker-Robinson and Amanda Phegley put the Heels ahead 16-8. Carolina was able to secure the set victory with its highest hitting percentage in a set this season (.406) and seven kills from Shaffmaster.
In the fourth, both teams traded points to open the set before Colorado State was able to take the edge and the 10-6 lead. After Carolina called timeout to regroup, the team went on a 7-2 run, and were able to get back into within one point of the lead, 13-12.
It remained a one-point game until back-to-back kills from Parker-Robinson and Shaffmaster gave Carolina the 25-23 fourth set win.
In the fifth, Carolina held the lead for the majority of the set until the Rams came back to tie it up at 13. Colorado had match point twice, but both times a kill from Kaya Merkler gave the Tar Heels new life. An ace from Merkler and a kill from Robinson helped keep UNC a perfect 4-0 on the season with a 17-15 win in the final set.
NOTABLES
» Shaffmaster was the first Tar Heel to record 20 or more kills in a match since Parker Austin had 23 against Syracuse on March 5, 2021
» This is Carolina's first five-set victory since defeating No. 18 Notre Dame on March 21, 2021
» Tonight's win gave Carolina its first victory over the Rams in program history. CSU leads the series 3-1
UP EXT
The Tar Heels host Woffard at 12 p.m. and ECU at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Carmichael Arena. Both matches will be streamed on ACC Network Plus. Admission is free.
Team Stats
CSU
UNC
Kills
56
67
Errors
19
20
Attempts
156
162
Hitting %
.237
.290
Points
69
79
Assists
49
63
Aces
7
4
Blocks
6
8
Game Leaders
Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballMH/OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MH/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
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