No. 8-seeded UNC volleyball utilizes big runs in first NCAA tournament win since 2016

Volleyball is a game of runs. 

At the beginning of the third set with the match evened at one set a piece, the Bulldogs went on a four-point run. Yale, 4-1. 

Some rallies later and four more unanswered points. Yale, 8-3. But two can play that game. 

After exchanging a few rallies, the Tar Heels cut the Yale lead to 14-13. Then they tied the game. Then took the lead. Then added nine more points. North Carolina, 23-14. And no looking back.

An 11-0 Tar Heel run to gain control of the set.

“We did the same back at them,” head coach Mike Schall said. “That’s volleyball.”

In a sport that’s all about momentum, UNC dominated the game of runs. The No. 8-seeded North Carolina women’s volleyball team topped Yale, 3-1, for its first NCAA tournament win since 2016. The Tar Heels — who entered the match hitting .246 on the season — recorded a .369 hitting percentage and went on several long stretches, repeatedly putting the Bulldogs in holes just too deep to claw out of.

The last time UNC was in the NCAA tournament was 2021. Only three players on this season’s roster were there for that first-round loss to Tennessee. 

“It’s my first time here,” graduate outside hitter Emani’ Foster said. “I’m excited. It was really fun playing Yale. It was really competitive. I think it’s good how great we can be offensively and I’m really excited to take it to the next team.”

No active player or coach has been part of an NCAA tournament win at North Carolina, in fact. Senior outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster — who led UNC in kills in the 2021 tournament appearance — said jitters were part of the 25-18 first set loss. 

“The first set we were extremely nervous and I could tell,” Shaffmaster said.

Despite struggling with serve reception and in-rally defense, the Tar Heels tallied a remarkable .478 hitting percentage in the first set. That efficiency on offense only continued, leading to those big runs. 

After a Yale ace to open the second set, North Carolina responded with four unanswered points. Shaffmaster was responsible for two kills in that stretch and 12 on the night. The other two points came from a kill by sophomore outside hitter Safi Hampton and a double block by Foster and graduate middle blocker Alexis Engelbrecht. 

Starting with a 4-1 advantage, UNC dominated the second set. The Tar Heels kept Yale from scoring more than one point at a time, shutting down any attempt for the momentum pendulum to swing in favor of the Bulldogs.

Then came the third set. And with it, the 11-0 run. 

North Carolina began the spell down 14-12. By the time Yale managed to score another point, UNC was two points from taking the third set. 

First-year defensive specialist Julia Bohlinger put pressure on the Bulldog backline with tough serves, causing Yale to be out-of-system on offense. 

When Yale found its footing, Engelbrecht nipped signs of a comeback in the bud. The Iowa State transfer tallied three blocks over the 11-point stretch, including one solo block on the Ivy League Tournament MVP Besty Goodenow. Engelbrecht led all players with eight blocks on the night. 

“That’s something she’s been really working on at practice,” Shaffmaster said. “Reading where the set’s going to go and not leaving early.”

The same lineup that spearheaded the longest run of the game also led the Tar Heels to seven unanswered points at the start of the fourth set. 

After Foster hit an errant attack on the opening point, the transfer from Charlotte powered in back-to-back kills. Engelbrecht had another block, Shaffmaster knocked down a kill and the remaining three points were Yale hitting errors. UNC was back where it left off in the third set.

But Yale wasn’t going down that easy. The Bulldogs tied the game up at 11-11. 

Both teams exchanged the next few points until Engelbrecht slammed down a kill out of the middle. Another error by Yale and kills by Foster and Hampton terminated three straight points for North Carolina. 

And by the end of another seven-point run, UNC had a comfortable cushion and was within two points of ending the set at 23-14 — and two points from clinching its first tournament win in eight years. 

“I think we’ve fought that all year,” Schall said. “You want to be the team that is on a run and you want to own it.”

@meganosmithh

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