Volleyball Downs Duke In Four

Wednesday, November 23

Chapel Hill

2 p.m.

North Carolina

16-12,8-9ACC

Duke

16-13,7-11ACC

Duke

North Carolina

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

November 23, 2022 | Volleyball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Carolina volleyball team (16-12, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) posted its fifth-straight victory over Duke on Wednesday afternoon in Carmichael Arena, downing the Blue Devils in four sets for the second time this season.

Freshman Liv Mogridge led the Tar Heel offense with a team-best 12 kills on .444 hitting, followed by Mabrey Shaffmaster who had 11 kills, a match-best five service aces and eight digs.

Defensively, Maddy May tallied 17 digs, while Kaya Merkler (7 blocks) and Skyy Howard (6 blocks) led the Tar Heels at the net. Carolina out blocked the Blue Devils 13-6 and had a 11-4 advantage in service aces.

Carolina has now won nine of its last 10 matches over Duke.

SET ONE – Carolina: 25, Duke: 18
Olivia Diaz opened the match with an ace for Carolina to give them an early lead that the Tar Heels held onto for the entirety of the set. Five different players scored for the Tar Heels in the first, led by six kills from Shaffmaster and three from Merkler. Two aces from Shaffmaster and one apiece from both Merkler and Diaz gave Carolina a 4-0 ace advantage in the frame. The Tar Heels outhit Duke .294-.237.

SET TWO – Carolina: 19, Duke: 25
Duke opened the set with an early 7-2 lead, increasing its advantage over Carolina to as many as eight. Carolina made a late 6-2 run to bring it to within three, 22-19, but Duke finished the set with three straight points. The Tar Heels were outhit .265-.200 in the frame. Mogridge and Merkler led the offense with three kills each while May had five digs.

SET THREE – Carolina: 25, Duke: 19
Set three was the most competitive set of the match with five ties and six lead changes. Despite Carolina jumping out to a 18-11 lead, a 7-0 run from Duke tied the set up at 18. The Tar Heels then went on a 7-1 run of their own to take the 2-1 advantage. Skyy Howard and Kaya Merkler combined for three blocks in the final six points of the set.

SET FOUR – Carolina: 25, Duke: 17
It was a back-and-forth battle to open set four, with Carolina taking the lead for good at the 10-9 mark. Mogridge had four kills in the set, followed by three from Parker Austin and Howard. Carolina outhit the Blue Devils .389-.244 in the set.

NOTABLES:

Anita Babic matched her career-best of five total blocks
Mabrey Shaffmaster matched her career-best of five service aces (a season-high)
Liv Mogridge matched her career-best of five total blocks, a career-best the freshman middle hitter has posted six times this season
Maddy May has tallied double-digit digs in 11 of the last 12 matches
Shaffmaster has had double-digit kills in 17 of the last 18 matches
Carolina had 11 aces in the win, the fifth time this season that the team has had double-digit aces in a match
The Tar Heels had just four service errors, just one error shy of a season-low

UP NEXT: SENIOR DAY
Carolina will be honoring its seven graduating seniors on Sunday pre-match vs. Virginia. Get in your seats early as we honor the Tar Heel careers of Karenna Wurl, Charley Niego, Olivia Diaz, Skyy Howard, Niki Khoshatefeh, Carly Peck and Parker Austin. First serve against the Cavaliers is 1 p.m.

Stay up to date with Carolina volleyball on Twitter and Instagram @UNCVolleyball.