North Carolina women’s volleyball (1-0) defeated Cleveland State (0-1) on Friday evening in a 3-0 victory in Carmichael Arena. The match was the first of the weekend as part of the Carolina Classic tournament.
Cleveland State was awarded first serve after winning the coin toss, but redshirt sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Thorpe’s cross-court hit put UNC on the board first.
The rally of the game came not even 15 points into the game. It was ended by senior opposite hitter Peyman Yardimci, a newcomer from Miami, who tipped the ball into no man’s land in the short center of Cleveland State’s side.
North Carolina appeared to be frazzled early, with sets from sophomore Zoe Behrendt and graduate transfer Taylor Eisert often too tight to the net for hitters to get a quality touch on the ball. However, the wrinkles were without a doubt ironed out midway through the first set. If anyone is going to set UNC straight, it’s senior outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster, whose first kill landed smack-dab in the face of a Viking defender.
Shaffmaster’s talent is not just limited to the net, as her three-serve sequence resulted in an ace and two overpasses from the Vikings. The three-time All-ACC selection led UNC on a 10-2 run. First-year middle blocker Jackie Taylor made her presence known above the net, putting up back-to-back blocks as North Carolina took the first set in a commanding 25-12 score.
Shaffmaster gave UNC its first point of the second set with a hard attack — one of her match-leading 15 — to Cleveland State’s back line. The hype of the second set reached its peak when, points later, Yardimci and fellow transfer Alexis Engelbrecht, a graduate middle blocker, blocked a Viking attacker’s swing to the floor. Engelbrecht continued to help the Tar Heels, finding most success in throwing the ball in place of attacking it.
North Carolina played a clean offensive game — totaling a .336 hitting percentage by the end of the match — but UNC’s defense was just as impressive. Wearing the Carolina blue libero jersey was junior Maddy May, who rarely let the ball hit the floor. Solid passes by the back line gave way to an in-system offense for UNC throughout the match.
One of the only struggles for North Carolina was reacting to Cleveland State’s lefty setter. Fifth-year Ella Mihacevich was not shy to attack on the second touch instead of set, which she tried 12 times throughout the game. Nonetheless, the Tar Heels took the second set 25-17.
UNC started to sense the end of their opening match as the student section raised four fingers to signify the four points the Tar Heels needed to clinch the set. Following several long rallies all won by North Carolina, the UNC bench was in the center of the court jumping up and down and tightly embracing one another, celebrating the third set win of 25-17 and first match victory.
