No. 24 Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller At Wake Forest

Sunday, September 27

Winston-Salem, N.C.

4:00 PM

North Carolina

7-3,2-0ACC

Wake Forest

6-7,0-2ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
North Carolina	25	23	26	30	15	3
Wake Forest	21	25	24	32	9	2

Match Notes

Safi Hampton
University of North Carolina Volleyball v Wake Forest
Varsity Arena
Winston Salem, NC
Sunday, September 27, 2026

Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT

September 27, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 24 Carolina volleyball won a gritty five-set, nail-biter over Wake Forest (25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 30-32, 15-9) on Sunday afternoon.

Safi Hampton had her best match of the year, tying her career-high in kills with 22 while hitting .373. She also notched her second consecutive double-double of the year with 13 digs. While Hampton got the shine; the unsung hero of the match was Hailey Pearce. The senior stepped in due to an injury in the first set and showed up when the Tar Heels needed her most. She finished with 11 kills including a team-high three in the fifth set.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair that featured six ties and two lead changes. The Tar Heels were powered by Chelsea Thorpe and Hampton who had four kills apiece in the first frame, Thorpe tacked on three blocks as well. Up one, Carolina rattled off a 4-0 run to go up 15-10 going into the media break. Wake responded with a run of its own to cut the lead back to 15-14, but it could never manage to tie things back up. UNC went on to take the set 25-21 thanks to a service error.

Set two featured seven ties and three lead changes. Trailing 23-19, UNC was able to put together a 3-0 run to make it a one-point game but ultimately the Demon Deacons took the second 25-23.

The third set was even closer than the first two featuring 16 ties and three lead changes. Wake opened on a 4-1 run that was quickly answered by Carolina to make it 4-4. Later a 4-0 run gave the Tar Heels a 12-9 lead. The Demon Deacons would knot it back up at 15-15 however before taking a 19-17 lead. A kill and ace from Safi Hampton tied things back up. Wake Forest would go on to survive two set points before Hampton closed it out with a kill to take it 26-24.

The third set was a marathon; there were 11 set/match points before Wake Forest took it 32-30 to force a fifth set.

The Tar Heels went pedal to the metal in the fifth set, blazing out to a 9-2 lead. The lead proved too much to overcome for the Demon Deacons as Carolina won the set 15-9 to take the match.

UNC has now won 11 consecutive matches against in-state opponents and Mike Schall moves to 16-4 in North Carolina matchups.

Next up, the Tar Heels finally return home for the first time since Sept. 4 as they take on Clemson on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.