No. 23 Volleyball Wins Eighth Straight With 3-0 Sweep At Notre Dame

Friday, October 16

South Bend, Ind.

6:30 PM

North Carolina

12-3,7-0ACC

Notre Dame

4-12,1-6ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
North Carolina	25	28	26	3
Notre Dame	15	26	24	0

Match Notes

Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT

No. 23 Volleyball Wins Eighth Straight With 3-0 Sweep At Notre Dame

October 16, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score

NOTRE DAME, IND. – No. 23 Carolina volleyball (12-3, 7-0 ACC) picked up its third straight road sweep on Friday night against Notre Dame (25-15, 28-26, 26-24).

Chelsea Thorpe and Safi Hampton led the way for the Tar Heels with 10 kills each. Thorpe had match-high tying seven blocks with Lauren Schutter.

The Tar Heels punched first in a big way in the first set, leading wire-to-wire with six blocks as a team. The Tar Heels hit an astonishing .444 and held Notre Dame to -.107. The largest run Notre Dame was able to put together was just two consecutive points, which it did three separate times. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels rattled off two separate 5-0 runs to give themselves distance before taking the set 25-15.

The set marked the seventh consecutive set holding an opponent under 20 points, not including the fifth set against Georgia Tech.

The second set Carolina had to punch back. The Fighting Irish jumped out to a 3-0 lead and eventually took a 15-9 lead into the media timeout. Down 18-12, head coach Mike Schall called a timeout to regroup. The Tar Heels responded in a big way, with a 7-0 run to take a 19-18 lead. The Tar Heels had to fight off a set point at 25-24 but were able to fight back with a kill and a block by Thorpe to regain the lead. After Notre Dame tied it back up at 26-26, a Laynie Smith kill and an Addison West and Hampton block closed things out for Carolina.

The third set was just as tight as the second. Carolina took a 3-0 lead and Notre Dame responded by tying it back up a 3-3. There were four lead changes in the set but none came until Notre Dame grabbed a 22-21 lead. UNC let that lead last until the next rally as it instantly tied it back up and then grabbed the lead right back at 23-22. The Fighting Irish fought right back taking a 24-23 lead. Then UNC ended things with a 3-0 run to take the set and the match.

UNC has now won 12 consecutive sets and 15 of its last 17. It's the eighth consecutive win for the Tar Heels, the longest win streak since last season when they rattled off 10 wins in a row.

Next up for Carolina is a matchup with No. 3 Louisville on Sunday 1 p.m. The two teams are the last two teams who are still undefeated in ACC play.