The UNC volleyball team’s perfect start to the season continued Friday night as the Tar Heels picked up their second in-state sweep of the week, dispatching Charlotte to move to 10-0 on the year.
The 49ers hung tough with Carolina for most of the match, but a 13-3 extended run in the first set to turn an 8-6 Charlotte lead into a 19-11 UNC advantage made all the difference in the opening frame. Nia Parker-Robinson earned five kills in the set, but it was teammate Amanda Phegley who slammed home an emphatic set point to clinch a 25-20 win.
Charlotte won three of the first five points of the second set, but another long UNC run, this one 15-4, built an insurmountable lead. The 49ers never got closer than seven points for the rest of the frame, with kills by Kaya Merkler and Parker-Robinson leading an efficient Carolina offense to the second set victory.
There weren’t any sustained runs of dominance in the third set, but it is ironically the one in which the 49ers never held a lead, as steady work from Parker-Robinson and Merkler paced the Tar Heels. Head coach Joe Sagula’s team took the set 25-20, and the match with it.
Parker-Robinson led all players from either side with 14 kills. The closest Tar Heel was Merkler with five. Parker-Robinson, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, has led a Carolina offense that has improved its hitting percentage from .185 last season to .270 so far this season. Parker-Robinson tallied a superb personal hitting percentage of .440 against the 49ers on Friday night.
Carolina will have one more non-conference game before starting ACC play, as Davidson visits Carmichael Arena Saturday at 4 p.m. After that, No. 4 Pittsburgh comes calling.
Featured image via Carolina Athletics
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