On Friday night, the North Carolina volleyball team (19-6, 11-5) defeated the California Golden Bears(12-17, 4-13), 3-1, at Carmichael Arena.
The Tar Heels scored early in the first set, upon first serve by sophomore setter Zoe Behrendt landing an easy ace. UNC started off moving slow on the court, leaving room for Cal to capitalize on any gaps. The first set was a back and forth battle, with the Golden Bears matching most points that Carolina scored.
With Cal up 13-9, the Tar Heels took a timeout. Cal had nine kills compared to UNC’s five. Before UNC could blink, the Bears went on a 5-0 run but UNC soon broke its dry spell after kill by senior outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster. Then, Cal libero Sophia Johnson dove onto the court seconds too late, after a kill by sophomore outside hitter Safi Hampton, which began a 3-0 scoring run for Carolina.
This run brought UNC to just a four point deficit, with the goal of slowly closing in on the Bears lead for the first set. It was time for the California Golden Bears first timeout with a score of 23-19, with Carolina trailing close behind. Once resumed, the Bears scored to make it set point.
Two back-to-back kills by Shaffmaster then brought the score to 22-24. Despite UNC’s late resurgence, Cal took the first set.
At the start of the second set, the Tar Heels scored early once again, when the Golden Bears failed to communicate and were lost on who was to contact the ball next. With some new found energy, North Carolina took an early 7-2 lead, and California called their first timeout of the set.
With a kill by graduate outside hitter Emani’ Foster, UNC led 10-3. However, California was able to keep the set close Tar Heels through a classic combo of a bump, set, spike. UNC responded quickly and picked up a 10 point lead on the Golden Bears, with a 22-12 score. Though Cal made a strong comeback, UNC took the second set, 25-18 to even the match.
Upon the start of set three, the Bears broke the UNC's streak of scoring first with a kill. That didn’t stop the Tar Heels from quickly returning to their groove, and bringing the score to 6-2 upon a kill by redshirt sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Thorpe. With the Bears slowly creeping up, UNC delivered a back-to-back block and ace, played by Foster, and the ace by sophomore outside hitter Safi Hampton.
After multiple kills from Shaffmaster and Hampton, the Tar Heels had a 17-11 lead. The Bears countered upon a 4-0 scoring run, bringing the score to 17-15. After trading back and forth points, UNC clinched the win for the third set with a 25-21 lead, bringing the match 2-1.
