WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Carolina volleyball team (12-12, 6-9 ACC) earned a dramatic, five-set victory at Wake Forest (17-9, 8-7 ACC) on Friday night. After going down by two sets, the Tar Heels rallied back to take the final three sets and secure the win.
After coming off the bench in the third set, freshman outside hitter Safi Hampton put on a signature performance to spark the Tar Heels’ comeback. She tallied 13 kills with a .417 hitting clip, five digs and a block, including five kills in the fifth set.
Freshman middle blocker Sydney Nolan led the Tar Heel block, tallying a career-best eight blocks, including a pair of solo blocks and nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Freshman Romani Thurman contributed six block assists, a career-best, and seven kills.
Junior outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster had a team-best 15 kills, four aces and seven digs. Freshman setter Zoe Behrendt and sophomore setter Anita Babic combined for 47 of Carolina’s 53 assists, while Maddy May had 10 digs and three aces.
Wake Forest out-hit the Tar Heels .301-.257, but the Tar Heels won the service ace battle 9-7 and at the net with 11 blocks to 10 from the Demon Deacons.
In back-to-back matches against eachother, the Tar Heels and Demon Deacons went the distance, playing five sets apiece. In both matches, the team that won the first two sets of the match did not end up winning the match.
The Tar Heels will look to carry the momentum to Sunday when they travel to No. 5…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of North Carolina Athletics…