Heels Fall 3-1 To No. 4 Pitt, Suffers First Loss Of Season

Friday, September 24

Chapel Hill

6 PM

North Carolina

11-1,0-1ACC

Pitt

11-0,1-0ACC

Pittsburgh

North Carolina

Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim

September 24, 2021 | Volleyball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL - The Carolina volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season on Friday night, falling to No. 4 Pitt in Carmichael Arena, 3-1. Freshman Mabrey Shaffmaster recorded a match-high 17 kills on the night, while Nia Parker-Robinson had 13, her sixth-straight match in double-digits. As a team, the Heels posted a .230 attacking clip, compared to .194 from the Panthers.

Skyy Howard (6) and Kaya Merkler (5) combined for 11 blocks, while setter Meghan Neelon had 18 assists and libero Karenna Wurl had 15 digs.

How it Happened (17-25, 20-25, 25-9, 25-21):
Pitt's (11-0, 1-0 ACC) offense got hot quickly to open the match, posting a .423 team attacking percentage and 15 kills in set one, while helping to hold Carolina to a .107 clip. Shaffmaster and Parker-Robinson each had four kills in set one.

Set two was a gritty battle for both teams, with three lead changes and eight ties between the squads. Carolina was able to keep pace with the Panthers until late into the set when it was 17-all, when Pitt went on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good. Parker-Robinson had a team-high five kills in the set, while Annabelle Archer and Meghan Neelon combined for nine assists.

Carolina dominated the third set from start to finish, holding the lead for the entirely. The Heels had a match-best .450 attacking percentage in the set, while holding Pitt to -.143. Carolina had three service aces, 11 kills and two blocks, while the Panthers committed nine blocking errors.

Pitt rebounded quickly in set four, opening with three straight service aces. Carolina was able to go on a 4-0 run of their own to take the 4-3 lead, before Pitt was able to jump ahead 13-6 in the middle of the set, a lead the team held onto. Despite Carolina holding off two set points, Pitt was able to clinch the 25-21 victory to seal the match win.

The Tar Heels are now 11-1 on the season and 0-1 in ACC play.

Hear from head coach Joe Sagula:
On using this match as a measuring stick for where the team is at this point in the season…
"I'm using it more as a learning opportunity for our team. As a measuring stick, I think this shows we can compete. Now, we have to continue to learn how to sustain a high-level in each set. I think this match showed each player that we can play well against one of the top teams in the country, we're getting pretty darn close.' I look at the fact that we forced our opponent into errors and we made that happen with our blocking and our serving and aggressive play. We also hit at a good percentage, and now need to find ways to finish plays. I like the way we blocked, we served tough, so if that's a measuring stick, then we're right there being competitive."

On how he sees the team at this point of the season:
"I'm proud of these girls and how they've kept their focus and how hard they're going after it. I'm proud of them tonight. We're disappointed; everyone wants to win. But I felt we competed hard and showed where we can go."

Up Next:
The Heels host Virginia at 1 p.m. on Sunday.