On Friday night, the No. 25 North Carolina volleyball team (22-7, 14-6) defeated the Clemson Tigers (11-20, 3-17), in their final regular season match at Jervey Gym in Clemson, S.C.
The first set started off rough for the Tar Heels, after an early 4-0 run by the Tigers. But the Tar Heels did not let up - striking back with a 4-0 scoring run of their own, featuring two kills by graduate outside hitter Emani’ Foster.
The set continued to be a back and forth battle, with Clemson holding on to a slight lead of 9-7. But after an easy ace by senior outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster, the Tar Heels tied the score yet again.
Despite two kills by sophomore outside hitter Safi Hampton that helped close the gap, the lengthy set remained neck-and-neck, with both teams returning each other's attacks. With the score tied 15-15, the Tar Heels found a surge of energy, striking back to take a lead of 17-15, following a kill by Shaffmaster, and another by first-year middle blocker Jackie Taylor.
Clemson struggled to fight back, taking two timeouts after a five point scoring run by the Tar Heels. The Tigers failed to find their groove as North Carolina continued to dominate the end of the set on an 11-3 run, taking it 25-18.
Riding the momentum of the end of the first set, UNC began set two with a 5-2 run against Clemson. Despite Clemson’s efforts to fight back, the Tar Heels continued to dominate with a service ace by sophomore setter Zoe Behrendt bringing the score to 9-4, prompting a Clemson timeout.
Clemson’s star attacker Mia Moore struck back after the break with two back-to-back kills for the Tigers, building momentum as they pushed the score to 12-9.
After a 3-0 scoring run by the Tar Heels, Clemson took another timeout. The Tigers came back with a bang after the break - going on their own 4-0 scoring run, bringing the score to 17-14. A kill by Foster ended their run, but the momentum continued to shift back and forth across the net with both teams matching each other's attacks yet again. But the Tigers continued to trickle behind. After a 4-0 scoring run from North Carolina, the Tar Heels took the second set with a score of 25-18.
The Tar Heels started the third set with a 4-0 scoring run, soaring to an early lead. Clemson ended the run with a service ace, but UNC snapped back with an ace by Hampton, bringing the score to 7-2, widening the margin for the Tar Heels.
