The UNC volleyball team had itself a productive weekend in Virginia, winning three matches in two days at the VCU Invitational in Richmond. Carolina defeated Old Dominion, hosts VCU and UMBC. The VCU win was UNC’s second true road win of the year.
In the first match against Old Dominion on Friday morning, Carolina rebounded from a 25-21 loss in the second set and won the final two frames, 25-20 and 25-19. Junior Aziah Buckner led the Tar Heels with a career-high 18 kills, easily surpassing her former mark of 15. Buckner also tied with Kaya Merkler and Liv Mogridge for the team lead with four blocks against the Monarchs. Notre Dame transfer Charley Niego slammed home 16 kills. She holds a slim lead for kills this season with 132. Mabrey Shaffmaster has 131.
It was Merkler who starred later that night against the Rams, hitting 12 kills and also standing tall with a pair of blocks. This time, Carolina didn’t drop a set and swept the hosts. The stiffest challenge came in the third set, as Carolina allowed a 6-1 run after leading 21-16. But the Tar Heels closed well, winning three of the final four points to seal the deal.
Carolina stayed hot on Saturday, sweeping past the Retrievers to emerge from the VCU Invitational 3-0. Shaffmaster hit a team-high 15 kills and played superb defense as well, placing second on the team with nine digs. In the inverse of the VCU match, Carolina dealt with a tight first set but won by bigger margins in the next two. UNC won the final two points of the first to win 25-23, then easily handled sets two and three, 25-18 and 25-16.
The 8-3 Tar Heels will start ACC play next Friday. A tough road match awaits, as first Carolina will travel to No. 12 Pittsburgh to open the conference season.
Featured image via UNC Volleyball on Twitter
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