University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, October 18
Louisville, Ky.
1:00 PM
North Carolina
12-4,7-1ACC
0
at
3
#3 Louisville
18-2,8-0ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 27 | 22 | 23 | 0 |
| Louisville | 29 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT
No. 23 Volleyball Falls To No. 3 Louisville In Three
October 18, 2026 | Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 23 Carolina volleyball fell at the hands of No. 3 Louisville (27-29, 22-25, 23-25) on Sunday to close out its four-match road trip. The loss snaps UNC's eight-match win streak and is the Tar Heels first loss in ACC play.
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The first set was a back-and-forth affair the entire time. Louisville maintained a slight lead throughout but a 3-0 run by Carolina tied things at 17-17. With Louisville up 24-22, the Tar Heels fought off five set points to make it 27-27. But Louisville ended up taking the set 29-27. Safi Hampton was outstanding in the set with six kills in the opening frame. Jackie Taylor also had five blocks to start things off.
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The second set was just as close with Carolina using a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Cardinals would battle back however, using a 5-2 run to tie it back up. With the match tied at 16-16, Louisville took a lead and never relinquished it. UNC cut the deficit to one but were never able to tie things back up as the Cardinals took the frame 25-22. Hampton added four more kills in the set to bring her total to 10.
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The third set was just as tight but unfortunately, it was the same result for the Tar Heels. Carolina held a 20-17 lead, but Louisville came back to snatch a 23-22 lead and used that to power them to a 25-23 set win and the sweep.
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Carolina now returns home for matchups with Cal and No. 16 Stanford on Oct. 23-25. Sunday's match will be at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. You can get tickets here.
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The first set was a back-and-forth affair the entire time. Louisville maintained a slight lead throughout but a 3-0 run by Carolina tied things at 17-17. With Louisville up 24-22, the Tar Heels fought off five set points to make it 27-27. But Louisville ended up taking the set 29-27. Safi Hampton was outstanding in the set with six kills in the opening frame. Jackie Taylor also had five blocks to start things off.
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The second set was just as close with Carolina using a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Cardinals would battle back however, using a 5-2 run to tie it back up. With the match tied at 16-16, Louisville took a lead and never relinquished it. UNC cut the deficit to one but were never able to tie things back up as the Cardinals took the frame 25-22. Hampton added four more kills in the set to bring her total to 10.
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The third set was just as tight but unfortunately, it was the same result for the Tar Heels. Carolina held a 20-17 lead, but Louisville came back to snatch a 23-22 lead and used that to power them to a 25-23 set win and the sweep.
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Carolina now returns home for matchups with Cal and No. 16 Stanford on Oct. 23-25. Sunday's match will be at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. You can get tickets here.
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Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
UNC
LOU
Kills
48
43
Errors
23
18
Attempts
143
134
Hitting %
.175
.187
Points
59.0
59.0
Assists
47
40
Aces
0
2
Blocks
11
14
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Sunday, October 18
Sunday, October 18
Sunday, October 18
Sunday, October 18