Mabrey Shaffmaster's journey to becoming a UNC volleyball great

Mabrey Shaffmaster recently saw a memory on Snapchat from three years ago. It was her setting up senior night festivities as a first-year. 

At the time, Shaffmaster was a homesick 18-year-old. She cried most days from being away from her family in New Castle, Ind. She rarely talked to anyone. She didn't believe she could be successful after high school. 

On Friday night after a 3-1 victory over California, the senior outside hitter — who tallied a team-high 19 kills on a spectacular .500 hitting percentage — celebrated her own senior night. And despite a first year of anxiety and four years riddled with self-doubt, the three-time All-ACC selection has cemented her name in the UNC volleyball record books.

Shaffmaster ranks 10th in all-time kills and fifth in career aces in UNC volleyball history. Her lethal top-spin serve puts her at fourth in the ACC in aces this season. She's ranked No. 18 nationally in aces per set at .51, meaning that 51 of her 100 serves were unreturnable by the opposing team. 

Among her teammates at North Carolina, Shaffmaster is first in kills, first in aces and second in digs behind junior libero Maddy May.  

She was ACC Freshman of the Year in 2021 and is on track for her fourth all-ACC honor. 

Yet, Shaffmaster still questions her abilities. Even though the numerical evaluations of her abilities speak for themselves.

“I've had several moments, even this year, of self-doubt and not thinking I'm good enough to play,” Shaffmaster said. “I think just that being there, it's factual information that I am good at volleyball and I've done a good job. I'm proud of myself.”

She questioned other things too, like her future at UNC. Especially after North Carolina finished 13-14 overall and 7-11 in ACC play last season. 

It was the first season under head coach Mike Schall. The team captains changed. The players weren't connecting. She wasn't always on the same page as the coaches. It was a lot of change for a person who doesn't particularly like change. 

And in a time when college athletes have more freedom to transfer than ever before, Shaffmaster considered a big change for her final year. She questioned if she even belonged at UNC anymore. She didn't want to be “miserable” for her senior year. 

However, she leaned on her teammates and family for advice and made a decision.

“It was a thought that just flew through my mind,” Shaffmaster said. “And I was like, ‘I can't leave. I belong here.’”

Schall talks to his players about their values in volleyball and beyond. In a conversation with Shaffmaster, he asked, “What are the things that are important to you?”

As a fierce competitor, she could've said winning. As the best hitter on the team, she could've said reaching a certain threshold of kills in a season. 

But her head was elsewhere.

“I'll just never forget one of the things she said was loyalty,” Schall said. “She is loyal to this team and she is loyal to Carolina.”

Shaffmaster's loyalty to her teammates lies in earning their trust over the years. As the only true six-rotation player on the team, making her the sole UNC player who stays on the court the entire game, she's learned how her teammates respond to game-time feedback. 

“I really think every time there's a huddle after every single point, everybody looks to her,” redshirt junior defensive specialist — and Shaffmaster's roommate of three years — Carson Overbeck said. 

It's taken a lot to become a leader. Shaffmaster called her first-year self a “train wreck” who focused solely on volleyball to avoid falling apart emotionally. Now, she's up there with the UNC volleyball greats and led North Carolina to its first 20-win season since 2021 and only the second since 2016.

“Just watching her go from that to such a leader on the court, I think it’s been really, really cool to watch,” Overbeck said. “I'll always be her biggest supporter ever.”

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