The North Carolina volleyball team (15-4, 4-4 ACC) swept Syracuse (14-6, 3-5 ACC) on Sunday afternoon for its fourth consecutive victory.
What happened?
After trailing for much of the beginning of the first set, the Tar Heels managed an 11-4 run to take the lead, eventually taking it by a score of 25-22. UNC is undefeated when winning the first set this season.
The second set was equally as exciting as Syracuse went on a rapid 4-0 run towards the end of the set to tie the score at 21 and forced UNC to make a quick substitution. The Tar Heels then won the next four points on three kills and a service ace to go up by a match score of 2-0.
The third set was a nail-biter as UNC did not take its first lead until midway through with a score of 11-10. The two teams then traded points as the lead continued to flip sides with Syracuse holding its final lead of the game at 22-21. The Tar Heels then rattled off four points in a row to clinch the match.
Who stood out?
The UNC offense stood out as a whole, putting up a very dominant performance.
Syracuse had very few answers for graduate transfer Nia Robinson and first-year Mabrey Shaffmaster, specifically, as they combined for 23 points. Robinson was responsible for 8 kills and had a hitting percentage of 0.462, while Shaffmaster put up 15 kills and had a hitting percentage of 0.154.
On the defensive side, redshirt sophomore Olivia Diaz led the team in digs with nine.
