North Carolina volleyball is back home with a quick two-match swing that should tell a lot about where this group stands after an eye-catching opening weekend.
The Tar Heels wrap up their three-match homestand Thursday against James Madison and return Friday for Colorado State, coming in with two wins already banked after sweeping Davidson on the road and UNCW at home. Thursday’s match against JMU is set for 7 p.m., followed by Friday’s meeting with Colorado State at 6 p.m.
UNC has plenty to like from the first two matches. The Tar Heels were sharp on both sides of the ball in opening weekend, and the numbers jump off the page.
Against UNCW on Sunday, Carolina hit .470, its most efficient offensive performance since Nov. 11, 2016.
Defensively, the Tar Heels were even more suffocating, limiting UNCW to a -.010 hitting percentage, the lowest since Boston College hit -.010 on Oct. 21, 2016.
Through two matches, UNC is holding opponents to a .055 hitting percentage, which is second best in the nation early on.
A win Thursday would extend the Tar Heels’ run against James Madison to seven straight. A victory Friday would give UNC its first over Colorado State since Sept.
3, 2021. It would also keep alive the chance for a third straight season opening 3-0 and 4-0.
Carolina’s early momentum comes with a ranking note that stands out on its own. The Tar Heels have been No. 19 in five consecutive AVCA polls dating back to Nov.
24, 2025. Before that stretch, UNC had only been ranked No. 19 twice in AVCA Top 25 history, on Nov. 4, 2013 and Aug.
10, 2016. Five straight polls at the same ranking is also the program’s longest such stretch since it sat at No. 7 for five consecutive polls between Nov. 17, 2014 and Aug.
12, 2015.
There’s also a lot returning to Chapel Hill. UNC did not lose anyone to the transfer portal for the second straight year, and the roster brings back nearly everything from last season’s production.
Of the 1,536 kills from last year, 1,535 are back on the 2026 roster. All 342 blocks return, 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 ahead of the 2026 season.
The leadership group for 2026 is made up of Zoe Behrendt, Chelsea Thrope, and Sadie Swift.
Mike Schall enters year four with the program after steady progress in his first three seasons. UNC went 13-14 in his debut year, then jumped to 23-8 in 2024 and earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021.
The Tar Heels followed with a 22-9 season in 2025, including another first-round NCAA Tournament win. Carolina is now aiming for three straight NCAA Tournament berths for the first time since a seven-year run from 2010-16.
The schedule ahead is loaded. UNC will face eight different teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, including national runner-up Kentucky, national semifinalist Pitt, and 2025 overall No. 1 seed Nebraska, all on the road.
The Tar Heels also travel to SMU, host Stanford and Georgia Tech, and play Louisville and Miami both home and away. In all, Carolina will face six teams ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top-11 across seven matches, with five of those on the road and two at home.
There’s a familiar thread running through parts of the roster, too. Incoming transfers Laynie Smith and Emily Bobbitt already know each other from Triangle Volleyball Club, the same club that produced Erin Curtis, Lindley Miller, and Carly Markham. Erin Curtis’ father, Jason, co-founded the club, and Schall also worked there as an associate director before coming to Chapel Hill.
The roster also comes with a long list of athletic family ties. Jackie Taylor’s father, Sean, played football at the University of Miami from 2001-2003, was on the 2001 BCS National Championship team, became the No. 5 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft to Washington, and earned two Pro Bowl selections in 2006 and 2007. Her mother, Jackie García, played midfield for Miami’s women’s soccer team.
Erin Curtis’ father Jason captained Santa Clara’s men’s volleyball team, while her sisters Emily and Maggie played at Villanova and Santa Clara, respectively. 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 also led the 1996 U.S.
Women’s Soccer Olympic Team to gold. She is now an assistant coach for the Duke women’s soccer team.
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Carson Bertagnole Gives UNC An Early Chance To Make Noise In Knoxville
Carson Bertagnole has given North Carolina a promising opening at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, where the Tar Heels spent Friday hanging around the top of the board after a steady start in Tennessee. Bertagnole sits one stroke off the lead after rounds of 66 and 69, and his play helped UNC card a 3-under-par first day while staying within reach of the tournament front-runners.
The Tar Heels posted a 2-under 278 in the morning and followed with a 1-under 279 in the afternoon, leaving them five shots behind co-leaders Chattanooga and Memphis. With the field still early in the event, UNC has positioned itself for a weekend push, and Bertagnoles start gives the team a chance to make some noise if the scoring stays within reach. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Already Faces Early Pressure In A Major 5-Star Recruitment
The early buzz around Demarcus Henrys recruitment is already starting to take shape, and North Carolina is right in the thick of it. The 5-star small forward in the 2027 class is one of the marquee names on the board, and his first official visit is set for Louisville, the opening stop in what is expected to become a busy stretch of trips as his process develops.
For UNC, the challenge is simple enough to see and difficult enough to solve: Henry has a long list of heavy hitters around him, including Ohio State, Kentucky, BYU, UConn, Arkansas and Kansas. Louisville coach Pat Kelsey is also said to be making a major push in the recruitment, which adds another layer to a race that is only just beginning to heat up for the Tar Heels. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Found A Defensive Lineman Fans Never Saw Coming
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Lewis has since turned that opportunity into a scholarship and real defensive production, the kind of rise that speaks to both persistence and fit. His strong showing against TCU stood out as another reminder that UNC may have found a player who was easy to overlook at first but is becoming harder to ignore now. [Read more 🡒]