Sunday, September 28
Chapel Hill, N.C.
1 PM
North Carolina
9-2,2-0ACC
3
vs
1
NC State
7-5,0-2ACC
1
2
3
4
F
NC State
25
15
21
23
1
North Carolina
19
25
25
25
3
Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH
No. 25 Volleyball Tops NC State In Four Sets
September 28, 2025 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 25 Carolina volleyball won its third match in a row taking down rival NC State in four sets (19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-23). Carolina notched its first win against the Wolfpack since 2022 behind double doubles from Zoe Behrendt and Safi Hampton.
Hampton's 18 kills led the match and was one away from tying her career-high in digs with 16 on the day.
The Wolfpack picked up the win in the first set 25-19 after the Tar Heels were unable to get any kind of momentum rolling.
The rivals squads went back and forth in the second set. Despite holding the lead for the entire set, NC State hung around for the early going. The Tar Heels made their push with a 6-0 lead to make take the score from 16-13 to 22-13. Lauren Schutter dominated the defensive side with three blocks in the set as she ended with six for the match.
The third set was another nail bitter. The lead only changed hands twice early on but there were seven ties. With the Tar Heels up 18-17, they rattled off the next four points to take a commanding 22-17 lead. The Wolfpack were able to get it to 23-20 and 24-21 but Carolina held them off to take a 2-1 lead.
The final set was a battle to the end. NC State had an early 3-2 lead until a 4-0 run gave Carolina the lead. Later in the set, tied at 14-14, the Tar Heels used another 4-0 run to give themselves some distance and force an NC State timeout. The Wolfpack fought off match point twice but Carolina prevailed in the end ot pick up its first win in Carmichael against NC State since Oct. 20, 2021.
Chelsea Thorpe notched her career high in blocks with her seven. Bridget Malone tied a career high in kills with eight in only two sets of play.
Carolina is now 4-0 against in-state opponents with two against Duke remaining.
Duke week kicks off next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on ACCN at home, before Carolina heads to Durham for 2:00 p.m. first serve on Saturday.
Hampton's 18 kills led the match and was one away from tying her career-high in digs with 16 on the day.
The Wolfpack picked up the win in the first set 25-19 after the Tar Heels were unable to get any kind of momentum rolling.
The rivals squads went back and forth in the second set. Despite holding the lead for the entire set, NC State hung around for the early going. The Tar Heels made their push with a 6-0 lead to make take the score from 16-13 to 22-13. Lauren Schutter dominated the defensive side with three blocks in the set as she ended with six for the match.
The third set was another nail bitter. The lead only changed hands twice early on but there were seven ties. With the Tar Heels up 18-17, they rattled off the next four points to take a commanding 22-17 lead. The Wolfpack were able to get it to 23-20 and 24-21 but Carolina held them off to take a 2-1 lead.
The final set was a battle to the end. NC State had an early 3-2 lead until a 4-0 run gave Carolina the lead. Later in the set, tied at 14-14, the Tar Heels used another 4-0 run to give themselves some distance and force an NC State timeout. The Wolfpack fought off match point twice but Carolina prevailed in the end ot pick up its first win in Carmichael against NC State since Oct. 20, 2021.
Chelsea Thorpe notched her career high in blocks with her seven. Bridget Malone tied a career high in kills with eight in only two sets of play.
Carolina is now 4-0 against in-state opponents with two against Duke remaining.
Duke week kicks off next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on ACCN at home, before Carolina heads to Durham for 2:00 p.m. first serve on Saturday.
Team Stats
NCSU
UNC
Kills
48
61
Errors
21
23
Attempts
169
153
Hitting %
.160
.248
Points
59.0
74.0
Assists
44
58
Aces
2
2
Blocks
9
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
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