No. 23 Carolina volleyball kept rolling Friday night, leaving Notre Dame with a 3-0 sweep and an eighth straight win. The Tar Heels improved to 12-3 overall and 7-0 in ACC play, and they picked up their third consecutive road sweep in the process.
Chelsea Thorpe and Safi Hampton paced Carolina with 10 kills apiece. Thorpe also matched for the team lead with seven blocks, sharing that number with Lauren Schutter.
Carolina set the tone immediately in the opening frame and never gave it back. The Tar Heels controlled the first set from start to finish, piling up six blocks as a team and hitting .444 while limiting Notre Dame to -.107.
The Irish never mounted anything bigger than a two-point spurt, and that happened three times. Carolina, meanwhile, created breathing room with a pair of 5-0 runs before closing out a 25-15 win.
That first set also extended a dominant stretch for the Tar Heels, marking the seventh straight set in which they held an opponent under 20 points, not including the fifth set against Georgia Tech.
The middle set was far more demanding. Notre Dame opened with a 3-0 burst and built a 15-9 lead by the media timeout.
Down 18-12, head coach Mike Schall used a timeout, and Carolina answered with a 7-0 run to move in front 19-18. The Tar Heels then had to survive a set point at 25-24, but Thorpe delivered with a kill and then a block to flip the momentum back.
After the Fighting Irish tied it at 26-26, Laynie Smith finished a kill, and Addison West teamed with Hampton for the block that sealed the set.
The third set followed a similar pattern of tension. Carolina grabbed an early 3-0 edge, Notre Dame answered to level it at 3-3, and the teams traded four lead changes before the Irish finally nudged ahead 22-21.
UNC quickly tied it, regained the lead at 23-22, and then had to answer again after Notre Dame moved in front 24-23. The Tar Heels closed with a 3-0 run to finish the sweep.
Carolina has now won 12 straight sets and 15 of its last 17. The eight-match winning streak is its longest since last season, when it strung together 10 wins in a row.
The next challenge comes Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 3 Louisville. The Tar Heels and Cardinals are the last two unbeaten teams in ACC play.
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