In a thrilling weekend of volleyball at Carmichael Arena, No. 23 UNC beat Cal in four sets Friday and then upset No. 15 Stanford in five sets late Sunday night.
Against the Bears Friday, the Tar Heels used a key 4-0 run to break open an 11-11 tie in the opening set and eventually won the set by that four-point margin, 25-21. It was Cal who started the stronger in the second set though, as the Bears led 10-5 before head coach Mike Schall called timeout. Cal still lead 23-20 before Carolina fought back to tie the set at 23-23, 24-24 and 25-25, but consecutive points by the Bears gave them the set and evened up the match.
The Tar Heels had far less trouble in the third, using a 9-2 run midway through to open up a 17-9 lead. Cal would cut that deficit to as little as four points but would get no further, as kills from Lauren Schutter, Addison West and Laynie Smith saw out the 25-17 win and put Carolina a set away from the match win.
Another Schall timeout changed momentum in the fourth. After trailing 8-4, UNC won nine of the next 10 points following the timeout to lead 13-9, and would not give up that lead for the rest of the evening. Two late Jackie Taylor kills helped the Tar Heels win the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Every night you’re getting good competition in @theACC ? pic.twitter.com/e9x28tYf8P
— Carolina Volleyball (@UNCVolleyball) October 24, 2026
Sunday night against the No. 15 Cardinal, the Tar Heels started out strong in their bid to beat Stanford for the first time since 2015. A 7-1 run midway through the first set helped Carolina open up a comfortable lead, one which grew to as large as nine points on the way to a 25-17 UNC win. But Stanford flipped the script in the second and third sets, leading the entire way in a 25-17 win in the second and winning four of the final five points in a 25-20 third-set victory.
One set away from its first home loss of the season and trailing 12-10 midway through the fourth set, the Tar Heels put together five consecutive points to swing momentum back in their favor. With the score 20-19 in favor of Carolina, consecutive kills from Smith sparked a 5-1 run to end the set, keeping UNC alive and forcing a first-to-15 fifth.
Carolina again had to overcome a deficit in the final set, as the Tar Heels trailed 5-2 early. But again, a key run flipped the scoreboard: eight consecutive UNC points, punctuated by a Safi Hampton kill, put Carolina ahead 10-5 and just five points away from the match. Stanford would get as close as 10-8 but could not take the lead back, and two Cardinal service errors served as UNC’s final two points in the thrilling win.
WHAT. A. MOMENT. pic.twitter.com/70DvEn8fLv
— Carolina Volleyball (@UNCVolleyball) October 26, 2026
Taylor was a best all night, totaling 13 kills alongside 14 blocks, the third most in a single match in program history. Safi Hampton’s 15 kills were a team high.
Sunday’s win is UNC’s first against a ranked opponent this season. The Tar Heels are now 14-4 overall and 9-1 in ACC play, tied with Pitt for second place in the league. Carolina is also 7-0 at home this year and will look to improve upon that record when it hosts Syracuse at Carmichael Arena Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Volleyball on Twitter
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