University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, August 25
Tucson, Ariz.
3 p.m. ET
North Carolina
3
vs
2
Pacific
Photo by: Marison Bilagody
Volleyball Opens Season With Back-To-Back Five Set Victories
August 26, 2023 | Volleyball
TUSCON, Ariz. – Despite playing 10 sets, 433 points and two five-set matches, the Carolina volleyball team opened the 2023 season with back-to-back wins over Pacific and Arizona at the Cactus Class on Friday.
With the victories, first-year head coach Mike Schall earned his first career victories as the Tar Heels' leader.
Mabrey Shaffmaster (39) and Emani' Foster (37) led the Tar Heel offense, combining for 76 kills between the two matches. At the net, Sadie Swift shined, combining for 12 blocks, including two solo stuffs, while Maddy May led the defense with 39 digs.
Anita Babic, back in her home state, tallied a career-best 48 assists against Arizona, finishing the day with 64 assists, three service aces and four kills.
The Tar Heels out-aced their two opponents 19-7 and out-blocked them 19-13.5.
Carolina vs. Pacific Notables: (27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13)
Stay up to date with Carolina Volleyball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
With the victories, first-year head coach Mike Schall earned his first career victories as the Tar Heels' leader.
Mabrey Shaffmaster (39) and Emani' Foster (37) led the Tar Heel offense, combining for 76 kills between the two matches. At the net, Sadie Swift shined, combining for 12 blocks, including two solo stuffs, while Maddy May led the defense with 39 digs.
Anita Babic, back in her home state, tallied a career-best 48 assists against Arizona, finishing the day with 64 assists, three service aces and four kills.
The Tar Heels out-aced their two opponents 19-7 and out-blocked them 19-13.5.
Carolina vs. Pacific Notables: (27-25, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13)
- The Tar Heels hadn't gone to five sets in a season-opening match since Sep. 8, 1989, vs. App State
- Mabrey Shaffmaster led the match with 24 kills, her most in a match since tallying a career-best 27 kills at Duke on Nov. 26, 2021
- Sadie Swift set a career-best with six blocks and matched her career-best of six kills
- In her Carolina debut, Emani' Foster posted a double-double, with 19 kills and 11 digs. It was her 23rdcareer double-double
- In her career-debut, Romani Thurman tallied 11 kills, four blocks and a pair of digs. Thurman is the first Carolina freshman to record double-digit kills in their debut since Aziah Buckner (14) at Virginia Tech on Sep. 24, 2020
- This was the first time the Tar Heels have played back-to-back five set matches since March 5/6 of 2021
- This is the second year in a row that Carolina has defeated Arizona in five sets
- Both Mabrey Shaffmaster (15 kills/10 digs) and Emani' Foster (18 kills/13 digs) posted double-doubles in the match. It was Shaffmaster's 23rd career double-double and Foster's 24th.
- Carolina's 13 service aces in the match were the most for the team since Sep. 3, 2022, against Arizona
- Four Tar Heels finished the match with double-digit kills: Foster (18), Shaffmaster (15), Thurman (12) and Swift (10)
- This is Carolina's first ever win against Arizona in Tucson
Stay up to date with Carolina Volleyball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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