CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Carolina volleyball team (3-2) finished their home-opening weekend in Carmichael Arena 2-0 with a five-set victory over Arizona (4-1) on Saturday night, giving the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
It was the Tar Heels’ first win over a PAC-12 team since defeating Stanford on Sep. 10, 2015.
Carolina tallied fourteen aces in the victory, the most by a Tar Heel squad since Oct. 3, 2014, led by freshman libero Maddy May who had six on the night.
Three Tar Heels, Mabrey Shaffmaster (19), Kaya Merkler (12) and Charley Niego (10) each had double-digit kills, while Shaffmaster led the defense with 15 digs and Merkler led the team with four blocks. Freshman setter and Arizona native Anita Babic set a new-career best with 37 assists to go with a career-best three blocks.
Despite the Wildcats outhitting Carolina .305-.214, Arizona struggled at the service line, making with 13 errors.
Merkler finished the weekend hitting .484 with 20 kills, nine blocks and six aces, while Shaffmaster tallied a team-best 37 kills, averaging 4.63 per set, and led the team with a combined 29 digs.
Merkler, who had 13 service aces in 30 matches in 2021, leads Carolina with 11 through the first five matches.
Shaffmaster and Niego have each also tallied double-digit kills in four of the first five matches.
Up next, the Tar Heels will hit the road for the Queen City, playing at Charlotte Sep. 6 at 6 p.m. The matchup will be streamed on…
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