#21 Volleyball Pulls Off Thrilling Reverse Sweep Over Notre Dame

Friday, October 24

Chapel Hill, N.C.

7 PM

North Carolina

Notre Dame

Photo by: DALTON T. WAINSCOTT

#21 Volleyball Pulls Off Thrilling Reverse Sweep Over Notre Dame

October 24, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 21 UNC volleyball broke in its new Taraflex court by pulling off a reverse sweep (19-25, 15-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-13) against Notre Dame. It's the first reverse sweep since Nov. 10, 2023, when the Tar Heels came back on the road against Wake Forest. Tonight's win marks the 10th win in a row, the longest win streak since 2021 when they also won 10 in a row. The 9-0 start in ACC is the best since 2016.

The first two sets went to the Fighting Irish in large part due to their size up front. They held UNC to a .152 hitting percentage in the first set and a .037 in the second set.

The Tar Heels went into the locker room in uncharted territory, this was the first time they trailed 2-0. Needing a response with their backs against the wall, the Tar Heels turned to Safi Hampton and Bridget Malone who combined for nine kills in the set to power UNC to a 25-17 set win. The team hit .429 and tacked on two aces in the set.

The fourth was closer but the Tar Heels stayed efficient. They hit .414 and were led by four kills from Malone to force a fifth set.

The fifth set had everything. It was a back-and-forth challenge filled battle. The Fighting Irish had the upper hand early on, taking an 8-4 lead into the court switch. Laynie Smith, Malone, and Maddy May rattled off a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 8-7. Notre Dame went back up 11-8 but Jackie Taylor and Chelsea Thrope responded with the next three points to knot things up at 11-11. Hampton would tie it back up at 12-12 and then again at 13-13. Needing just two more points, the Tar Heels got an ace from Sienna Cozza and then a kill from Smith wrapped things up. Before UNC could celebrate, it had to endure one last review but once the call was confirmed pandemonium broke out in Carmicheal Arena as the crowd of 2,502 all celebrated together.

For the second straight match, Bridget Malone was the much-needed spark off the bench. The freshman set a new career-high with 12 kills. Fellow freshman, Sienna Cozza was also huge with an ace to clinch the fourth set and the ace that gave UNC match point.

The Tar Heels now welcome No. 8 Louisville to Chapel Hill on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN.