University of North Carolina Athletics
Mike Schall
Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT
October 22, 2026 | Volleyball
The Carmichael Arena crowd was full of bald caps on Sunday, Oct. 4, all in honor of "Dress Like Mike Day." Down 24-20 in the third set and trailing two sets to none, Carolina volleyball was one point away from losing to Georgia Tech.
Then the Yellow Jackets got what they thought was the match-ending block. They rushed the court in celebration.
Mike Schall stayed calm. Carolina's head coach quietly raised a "C" with his hand and challenged a net fault. The call went his way, and the celebration stopped. Carolina had life, and the crowd erupted.
The Tar Heels won the next three points to make it 24-24. They saved another match point to tie it at 25, then 26, and went on to win the set, 28-26. They then won the next two sets and took the match in five.
It was a big comeback, but it started with a small gesture from a coach who noticed what everyone else had missed.
The Journey to Head Coach
Before he was "Coach," Schall was captain of the men's volleyball team at Penn State. After graduating, he stayed on as an assistant coach for the women's team for 12 years.
The job kept him away from his family, so he stepped away. He and his wife wanted to start their own club and commit to it full time, but it wasn't financially feasible at first. That changed when an associate director position opened at Triangle Volleyball in North Carolina. Schall spent the next seven years there with, as he put it, "no intention of going back."
There was one exception. "There was one place I would consider, and that was Carolina."
At the time, Joe Sagula was Carolina's head coach. When Sagula called to say he had open assistant positions and asked whether Schall was interested, Schall said yes. He joined the staff in 2018. When Sagula retired in 2023 after 33 seasons, Schall was promoted to head coach.
Building a "Mature Team"
Carolina did not add a single player from the transfer portal this year. Schall and his staff chose to recruit only from high school.
That doesn't mean the program is against transfers. Several current Tar Heels came to Chapel Hill that way, including Chelsea Thorpe (Ohio State), Lauren Schutter (Michigan State), Emily Bobbit (Iowa State), Mackenzie Boyer (LSU), Laynie Smith (Illinois), Haliey Pearce (Virginia Tech) and Meghan Clifford (Marquette). Schall's approach comes down to a simple thing: " When you have a group that you really love, and you want to see develop, and they go about things the right way, when nobody leaves, there's no need to bring in somebody new."
Skill alone isn't enough for Schall. He wants recruits who show more than "I am a good volleyball player." He pointed to Carly Markham, whom he praised for her competitiveness and for how she carries herself both when the team is exceeding and when it's struggling. He said Lindley Miller and Addison West showed the same qualities, and that those qualities were a big part of why Carolina recruited them.
No player has transferred out of the program in the last two years. Schall credits the people in his locker room. "They understand what this program and this place is all about," he said, calling it a "source of pride."
He said players recognize the value of Carolina and the loyalty they have to one another. Another sign of that love for the school is how many players choose to use a fifth year. Thorpe, Schutter and Sadie Swift all made the decision to wear the Carolina blue for one more year. With them, the "mature team" was officially made. Just having people on a roster isn't enough to be a team, though.
A Trip to Bring Everyone Together
This summer, the Tar Heels traveled abroad as a team for the first time since 2018. The Europe tour included coaches, friends of the program and even Sagula.
The players got to see the tourist sites, but they also played junior international squads. Against Italy's junior national team, Carolina showed grit, as the team "literally stepped off the bus and played the match." After the match, the two teams traded jerseys and laughs.
Schall said he valued more than the volleyball. He highlighted the "human connection" the trip created. The 10-day trip kept everyone together, and it built bonds among the people who make up Carolina volleyball.
Putting it All Together Against Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech tested what that bond can do. The Tar Heels lost the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-22, then flipped the match in the third. After Carolina's block ended the 28-26 set, the Tar Heels led the fourth set from start to finish and won it 25-22. A kill from Thorpe forced a fifth set.
In the fifth, Carolina jumped out to a 7-2 lead and won, 15-11.
Safi Hampton led the team with 22 kills, tying her career high for the second time in a week. Thorpe added 17 kills and Smith added 11. Schutter led the team with six blocks, including the one that sealed the third set. Zoe Behrendt had 30 assists and 12 digs, and she reached 2,000 career assists in the second set, becoming one of 11 Tar Heels to do so.
Addison West, one of the high school recruits Schall singled out, had the kill that put Carolina ahead in the third set, 27-26.
As Schall said, "This is a special place to be, and this is a special program to be a part of."
The Effects of Mike Schall
Schall wants his program to "Love each other, Love the game, Love Carolina. On Oct. 4, Carolina volleyball showed all three. Down two sets, the Tar Heels leaned on each other. Facing multiple match points, they played the game they love, and they won a 28-26 set. In a building full of bald caps, nobody had to be told what Carolina meant.
For a day, everyone in the building got to dress like Mike Schall, yet Mike Schall proved why no one else can be Mike Schall.
Then the Yellow Jackets got what they thought was the match-ending block. They rushed the court in celebration.
Mike Schall stayed calm. Carolina's head coach quietly raised a "C" with his hand and challenged a net fault. The call went his way, and the celebration stopped. Carolina had life, and the crowd erupted.
The Tar Heels won the next three points to make it 24-24. They saved another match point to tie it at 25, then 26, and went on to win the set, 28-26. They then won the next two sets and took the match in five.
It was a big comeback, but it started with a small gesture from a coach who noticed what everyone else had missed.
The Journey to Head Coach
Before he was "Coach," Schall was captain of the men's volleyball team at Penn State. After graduating, he stayed on as an assistant coach for the women's team for 12 years.
The job kept him away from his family, so he stepped away. He and his wife wanted to start their own club and commit to it full time, but it wasn't financially feasible at first. That changed when an associate director position opened at Triangle Volleyball in North Carolina. Schall spent the next seven years there with, as he put it, "no intention of going back."
There was one exception. "There was one place I would consider, and that was Carolina."
At the time, Joe Sagula was Carolina's head coach. When Sagula called to say he had open assistant positions and asked whether Schall was interested, Schall said yes. He joined the staff in 2018. When Sagula retired in 2023 after 33 seasons, Schall was promoted to head coach.
Building a "Mature Team"
Carolina did not add a single player from the transfer portal this year. Schall and his staff chose to recruit only from high school.
That doesn't mean the program is against transfers. Several current Tar Heels came to Chapel Hill that way, including Chelsea Thorpe (Ohio State), Lauren Schutter (Michigan State), Emily Bobbit (Iowa State), Mackenzie Boyer (LSU), Laynie Smith (Illinois), Haliey Pearce (Virginia Tech) and Meghan Clifford (Marquette). Schall's approach comes down to a simple thing: " When you have a group that you really love, and you want to see develop, and they go about things the right way, when nobody leaves, there's no need to bring in somebody new."
Skill alone isn't enough for Schall. He wants recruits who show more than "I am a good volleyball player." He pointed to Carly Markham, whom he praised for her competitiveness and for how she carries herself both when the team is exceeding and when it's struggling. He said Lindley Miller and Addison West showed the same qualities, and that those qualities were a big part of why Carolina recruited them.
No player has transferred out of the program in the last two years. Schall credits the people in his locker room. "They understand what this program and this place is all about," he said, calling it a "source of pride."
He said players recognize the value of Carolina and the loyalty they have to one another. Another sign of that love for the school is how many players choose to use a fifth year. Thorpe, Schutter and Sadie Swift all made the decision to wear the Carolina blue for one more year. With them, the "mature team" was officially made. Just having people on a roster isn't enough to be a team, though.
A Trip to Bring Everyone Together
This summer, the Tar Heels traveled abroad as a team for the first time since 2018. The Europe tour included coaches, friends of the program and even Sagula.
The players got to see the tourist sites, but they also played junior international squads. Against Italy's junior national team, Carolina showed grit, as the team "literally stepped off the bus and played the match." After the match, the two teams traded jerseys and laughs.
Schall said he valued more than the volleyball. He highlighted the "human connection" the trip created. The 10-day trip kept everyone together, and it built bonds among the people who make up Carolina volleyball.
Putting it All Together Against Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech tested what that bond can do. The Tar Heels lost the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-22, then flipped the match in the third. After Carolina's block ended the 28-26 set, the Tar Heels led the fourth set from start to finish and won it 25-22. A kill from Thorpe forced a fifth set.
In the fifth, Carolina jumped out to a 7-2 lead and won, 15-11.
Safi Hampton led the team with 22 kills, tying her career high for the second time in a week. Thorpe added 17 kills and Smith added 11. Schutter led the team with six blocks, including the one that sealed the third set. Zoe Behrendt had 30 assists and 12 digs, and she reached 2,000 career assists in the second set, becoming one of 11 Tar Heels to do so.
Addison West, one of the high school recruits Schall singled out, had the kill that put Carolina ahead in the third set, 27-26.
As Schall said, "This is a special place to be, and this is a special program to be a part of."
The Effects of Mike Schall
Schall wants his program to "Love each other, Love the game, Love Carolina. On Oct. 4, Carolina volleyball showed all three. Down two sets, the Tar Heels leaned on each other. Facing multiple match points, they played the game they love, and they won a 28-26 set. In a building full of bald caps, nobody had to be told what Carolina meant.
For a day, everyone in the building got to dress like Mike Schall, yet Mike Schall proved why no one else can be Mike Schall.
Players Mentioned
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/ VolleyballThursday, October 22
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Tuesday, October 20
Tuesday, October 20