No. 18 North Carolina is headed to New York for a Sunday afternoon matchup with unbeaten Vanderbilt, with the Tar Heels set to play inside Hammerstein Ballroom at 2 p.m.
UNC enters at 4-1 and is coming off a loss at No. 3 Kentucky on Wednesday night. Vanderbilt arrives at 5-0.
One of the biggest reasons Carolina has stayed dangerous early is the play of Bridget Malone. She turned in the best match of her career against Colorado State on Friday night, piling up a career-high 23 kills and adding four blocks to help push the Tar Heels to a five-set win. Through four matches, Malone leads the team with 49 kills and 3.50 kills per set.
Carolina’s opening weekend showed just how sharp this group can be when it’s clicking. The Tar Heels swept their first two matches while putting together a dominant offensive stretch and a locked-in defensive effort.
Against UNCW on Sunday, UNC hit .470, its most efficient offensive performance since Nov. 11, 2016.
The defense was just as suffocating, holding UNCW to a -.010 hitting percentage, the lowest since Boston College posted the same mark on Oct. 21, 2016.
Through two matches, Carolina’s opponents are hitting just .055, which ranks second in the nation early on.
This matchup also fits into a demanding schedule that will keep testing UNC all season. The Tar Heels are set to face eight different teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last year, including national runner-up Kentucky, national semifinalist Pitt and 2025 overall No. 1 seed Nebraska, all on the road.
Carolina also travels to SMU, hosts Stanford and Georgia Tech, and will play Louisville and Miami both home and away. Over seven matches, UNC will meet six teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top-11, with five of those coming away from home.
The roster comes back loaded, too. Carolina didn’t lose anyone to the transfer portal for the second straight year, and that continuity shows up in the numbers.
Of last season’s 1,536 kills, 1,535 return on the 2026 roster. All 342 blocks are back, along with 90.2% of the team’s aces and 69.7% of its digs.
Safi Hampton and Chelsea Thorpe were both named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
The leadership group for 2026 is Zoe Behrendt, Chelsea Thrope, and Sadie Swift.
This is also year four for Mike Schall, who has steadily raised the standard in Chapel Hill. Carolina is in the preseason AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll for the first time since 2017 and was picked fifth in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Schall opened with a 13-14 record in his first season, then guided the Tar Heels to 23-8 in 2024, which included the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021. UNC followed that with a 22-9 season in 2025 and another first-round NCAA Tournament win.
Now the Tar Heels are trying to string together three straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since a seven-year run from 2010-16.
There are also a few familiar ties running through the roster and staff. Laynie Smith and Emily Bobbitt both played together at Triangle Volleyball Club, where Erin Curtis, Lindley Miller and Carly Markham also played before college. Erin Curtis’ father, Jason, co-founded the club, and Schall worked there as an associate director before coming to Chapel Hill.
The program’s athletic lineage stretches even further. Jackie Taylor’s father, Sean, played football at Miami from 2001-2003, was part of the 2001 BCS National Championship team, and went No. 5 overall in the 2004 NFL Draft to Washington, where he became a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2006 and 2007.
Her mother, Jackie García, played midfield for Miami women’s soccer. Erin Curtis’ father Jason captained Santa Clara men’s volleyball, her sister Emily was a setter at Villanova, and sister Maggie was a defensive specialist at Santa Clara.
Julia Bohlinger’s father Rob played football at Wyoming from 1993-98 and later in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers at left tackle. Carson Overbeck’s mother, Carla, was a three-time All-America and four-time NCAA champion on UNC’s soccer team from 1986-89, captained the 1995 U.S.
World Cup team that reached the semifinals, and captained the 1996 U.S. Women’s Soccer Olympic Team that won gold.
She is now an assistant coach for Duke women’s soccer.
In Other News...
UNC Off-Field Turmoil Just Added Another Concern For Bill Belichick
North Carolinas football program is already navigating an uneasy stretch off the field, and now it has another self-imposed restriction layered onto the mix. The Tar Heels announced they will not host any unofficial visits for the upcoming game against East Tennessee State after a past recruiting violation, adding another administrative headache as Bill Belichick tries to settle in and focus attention on the season.
Michael Lombardis resignation has already reshaped the programs front office, and the new recruiting limitation only adds to the sense of churn around Chapel Hill. It also comes separate from the ongoing investigation involving defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, leaving UNC with multiple issues to manage at once while the on-field product tries to find some stability. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Misses On A Five-Star Guard Who Was Firmly In The Mix
NaVorro Bowman Jr., one of the top guards in the Class of 2027, is off the board early after committing to UConn, ending a recruiting battle that had included North Carolina, Texas and Arizona. The five-star prospect, ranked No. 11 in his class, had been firmly in the mix for the Tar Heels and was scheduled to visit Illinois before backing off that trip and making his choice.
For UNC, it is another reminder of how quickly the market can move on elite young guards, especially when a player commits this far out. Bowmans decision also gives other programs a clearer path as they recalibrate their recruiting boards, while North Carolina keeps working the class without one of the names it had targeted most aggressively. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Lands Another Huge Recruiting Chance In Massive Weekend For Malone
A busy recruiting weekend is bringing two of the top names in the 2027 class to Chapel Hill, and North Carolina is right in the middle of both pursuits. Five-star guard Jordan Page is scheduled to take an official visit to UNC this weekend, and he will be on campus with fellow five-star prospect CJ Rosser, giving the Tar Heels a chance to make a strong impression on a pair of elite targets at the same time.
For a program that keeps leaning into the top end of the high school market, the timing matters as much as the names. UNC has shown strong interest in both Page and Rosser throughout the 2027 cycle, and this trip gives the staff another chance to build on that momentum as the Tar Heels keep working to line up commitments from premier talent. [Read more 🡒]