No. 25 North Carolina kept rolling Friday night in Carmichael Arena, sweeping Clemson 3-0 and stretching its winning streak to four matches.
The Tar Heels controlled the night from the opening whistle, taking the Tigers 25-15, 25-20, 25-14 to move to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in ACC play. UNC also celebrated “Dig Pink” night, wearing pink arm sleeves and hair ties to raise awareness for breast cancer and honor those affected.
Hailey Pearce set the tone for Carolina’s attack. The senior rightside hitter matched the match-high with 10 kills on just 14 swings, while freshman outside Addison West also finished with 10 kills. Graduate middle blocker Lauren Schutter added six kills and three blocks, and junior Laynie Smith chipped in six kills and four blocks as part of UNC’s 10 total team blocks.
“[I was] literally just thinking about nothing,” Smith said, “just playing free, and just trying to grab every ball.”
UNC spread the ball around all night, with setters Zoe Behrendt, Sienna Cozza and Emily Bobbitt combining for 31 assists. Junior Julia Bohlinger handled libero duties in the sleeveless Carolina blue jersey and contributed four digs and six assists.
“Usually, if we're keeping balls alive, we will eventually kill it,” head coach Mike Schall said. “That's what we want to do. I was particularly pleased with the defensive effort, and not just keeping balls alive, but being able to convert off of it.”
Carolina wasted no time setting the tone in the first set, racing out to a 5-0 lead. Graduate opposite hitter Chelsea Thorpe sparked the early surge with three clean swings, and UNC’s front line of Schutter, Smith, Safi Hampton and Jackie Taylor made life miserable for Clemson at the net. That group combined for five blocks in the opening set.
The Tar Heels kept the pressure on as Cozza and first-year defense specialist Carly Markham came up with rally-saving plays in the backcourt, forcing Clemson into a second timeout as UNC moved ahead 18-9. Pearce finished the set with the clinching kill, and Carolina took the opener 25-15 while hitting .444 in the frame.
Clemson made things tighter in the second set, grabbing its first lead at 2-1 and staying within striking distance for most of the frame. Schutter kept Carolina steady with timely offense and defense, and after back-to-back kills from the Kansas native, Clemson called timeout trailing 18-15.
UNC still had to work through some mistakes after strong net play, and the Tar Heels used a timeout with a slim 21-20 lead. Schall’s team responded by taking the last four points of the set, with Taylor and Pearce teaming up for another pair of blocks to close out a 25-20 win.
The third set belonged to Carolina from the start. Pearce opened with three kills, and West added three of her own as the Tar Heels jumped out quickly again.
At 7-4, Markham shouted “Donut! Donut!”
before West tipped the ball just over the block for a point, triggering a seven-point run with Markham serving.
Clemson never got the margin back within six the rest of the way. On match point, Cozza delivered a quick serve that led to an easy free ball, and she then set West in the center of the court for the final point.
The sweep gave UNC its third straight 3-0 win of the season and marked the third year in a row the Tar Heels opened ACC play 3-0. Carolina has now beaten Clemson 10 straight times at home. The Tar Heels stay in Chapel Hill for Sunday’s match against Georgia Tech at 1:30 p.m., with a chance to make it five straight wins.
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