Mabrey Shaffmaster may need to buy a permanent share of the ACC’s freshman awards. After posting career-best numbers in UNC’s win over Duke on Friday and securing the program’s first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2016, Shaffmaster earned the conference’s Freshman of the Week award for the fourth time this season, and followed it up by capturing the ACC Freshman of the Year Award on Monday.

Shaffmaster previously won ACC Freshman of the Week honors twice in October and once in November.

In a five-set victory over the Blue Devils in the regular season finale, Shaffmaster slammed down a career-high 27 kills, while also tallying eight digs and a .375 hitting percentage. She leads all ACC freshmen in kills, and is ninth in the conference overall in kills (3.53) and points (3.98) per set. In just her first year with Carolina, Shaffmaster finished the regular season as the team leader in points (418) and service aces (30), while also placing third in digs and fifth in blocks. She started 28 of 29 matches for UNC this season.

Shaffmaster is the fifth Tar Heel to be named ACC Freshman of the Year, and the first since 2016. She earned spots on both the ACC All-Freshman Team and the All-ACC Second Team.

“Mabrey has been playing at a high level all season as a six-rotation player and we knew she could be a significant player in the ACC,” Carolina head coach Joe Sagula said. “This is a great accomplishment and a testament to her consistency all season…We’re so proud of her hard work and for this special recognition and for what she brings to the Tar Heels every day.”

In addition to Shaffmaster, Nia Parker-Robinson and Kaya Merkler were both named as second team All-ACC performers. Parker-Robinson, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, led UNC in kills this season with 391. Her 23 matches with 10 or more kills was a team-best. Merkler, a hometown hero from Chapel Hill, appeared on the All-ACC Freshman Team last season. This season, she led Carolina with 95 blocks and a .365 attacking percentage, which was also sixth-best in the ACC.

Shaffmaster, Parker-Robinson, Merkler and the Tar Heels currently sit at 21-8 overall, the program’s best record in five seasons. They will take on Tennessee in Columbus, OH, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, December 3 at 5 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jerome M. Ibrahim

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