The UNC volleyball team started its ACC season 1-1, dropping a match Friday at No. 10 Pittsburgh and winning in five sets at Virginia on Sunday.

Carolina visited the Panthers, who reached last season’s Final Four, and avoided a sweep by winning the third set, 25-20. Mabrey Shaffmaster and Charley Niego combined for 26 kills, but no other Tar Heel had more than six on the evening. Carolina was within 14-11 in the fourth set, but gave up a 6-0 run to the Panthers which effectively iced the match.

It looked like the Tar Heels might drop a second straight match Sunday at Virginia, as the Cavaliers took the opening two sets by close margins.

But Carolina answered in a big way, dominating the third and fourth sets to send the match to a deciding, first-to-15 fifth set. UNC won the third and fourth by 25-15 and 25-14 scores, respectively. In the fifth, the Tar Heels used a critical 4-1 run to flip a 10-8 deficit into a 12-11 lead, then used yet another 4-1 run to seal the match after trailing 13-12. A kill from Shaffmaster denied Virginia on match point at 14-13, and two straight errors from the Cavaliers gave UNC the victory.

Shaffmaster totaled 17 kills on the day, with Liv Mogridge and Aziah Buckner contributing 13 and 11, respectively. The weekend split moves Carolina to 9-4 overall on the season, with a pair of matches in Carmichael Arena upcoming this weekend. UNC hosts Miami at 6 p.m. on Friday night and Florida State at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

 

Featured image via Pitt Athletics

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