Carolina volleyball secured a dramatic five-set reverse-sweep victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill, overcoming an early two-set deficit to win 23-25, 22-25, 28-26, 25-22, 15-11. The hard-fought win was powered by Safi Hampton, who tied her career-high in kills for the second time in a week.
The Tar Heels struggled early against a formidable Yellow Jackets squad. Georgia Tech entered the weekend receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 before dropping consecutive matches, including a 3-2 defeat against rival Georgia and a 3-1 loss to No. 1 Nebraska, as detailed in reports from Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site. That early momentum favored the visitors in Chapel Hill as they claimed the opening two frames by margins of just two and three points, respectively, amid a combined eight ties and five lead changes.
Milestones and a Historic Third Set in Chapel Hill
Early in the second set, Zoe Behrendt notched her 2,000th career assist, making her just the 11th player in program history to reach the milestone. Despite that individual achievement, Carolina found itself on the brink of defeat in the third set, trailing 24-20.
As the Yellow Jackets celebrated what they believed was a match-winning block, UNC head coach Mike Schall—backed by a crowd wearing bald caps for “Dress Like Mike Day”—successfully challenged a net fault. Given new life, the Tar Heels rattled off consecutive points to level the score at 24-24. After saving multiple match points, Carolina snatched the third set 28-26 thanks to a kill from Addison West followed by a decisive block from Behrendt and Lauren Schutter.
Tar Heels Secure Reverse Sweep Victory
Carrying the momentum into the fourth frame, Carolina led wire-to-wire, fending off a late Yellow Jackets push before Chelsea Thorpe forced a decisive fifth set with a crucial kill. In the final frame, the Tar Heels seized a swift 7-2 advantage and maintained control.
Hampton matched her career-best performance with her 22nd kill to push the score to 13-9, while Thorpe and Laynie Smith closed out the match. Hampton finished with 22 kills, Thorpe contributed 17, and Smith added 11. Defensively, Schutter anchored the net with six blocks, and Behrendt recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 12 digs.
Looking Ahead in ACC Play
With the thrilling home victory secured, Carolina turns its preparation toward upcoming matchups against Virginia Tech and Virginia next week. Meanwhile, the rest of the ACC slate features concurrent road challenges, as the Virginia Cavaliers open their conference schedule with a two-match road trip through Clemson and Georgia Tech, according to VirginiaSports.com.
The Cavaliers enter conference play following a tough homestand against Ohio State, where fourth-year middle Emily Fowler anchored the defense with 47 total blocks on the season—ranking seventh in the ACC—as reported by Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site.
