Volleyball Heads To Conway To Open Season

CONWAY, S.C. – Carolina volleyball is looking to make the NCAA postseason for a back-to-back season for the first time in nearly a decade, when the Tar Heels did it from 2015 to 2016.

The Tar Heels open the season on the road in Conway, S.C., against Maryland and Coastal Carolina. Carolina is bringing back ten student-athletes from last year's NCAA tournament squad and welcoming in seven new members.

The Tar Heels take the court for the first time against Maryland on Saturday, August 31, at 1 p.m. Carolina will look to make eight straight against the Big 10 foes. Fans can watch the Tar Heels on TV against Coastal Carolina the next day at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

Series History
MARYLAND                    COASTAL CAROLINA
Overall: 44-20               Overall: 5-0
Home: 22-5                    Home: 5-0
Road: 14-12                   Road: 0-0
Neutral: 8-3                    Neutral: 0-0

A WIN WOULD...
- Be better than a loss
- Be the first ever win in Conway, S.C.
- Be the eighth straight win over Maryland
- Be the sixth consecutive win over Coastal Carolina
WELCOME TO THE SAFI SHOW
- Safi Hampton was named to the 2025 Preseason All-ACC Team
- Hampton returns for her junior season after a breakout sophomore campaign. In 2024 she led all returning Tar Heels in kills (291), points per set (3.27), and points (342.0)
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
- The 2025 leadership team consists of Zoe Behrendt, Chelsea Thrope, Safi Hampton, Maddy May, Erin Curtis
THE CLUB CONNECTION
- Incoming transfers Laynie Smith and Emily Bobbitt will have a connection before they ever play in Carolina blue together
- The two played together at Triangle Volleyball Club
- Triangle is also where Erin Curtis and Maddy May played club prior to college
- Erin Curtis' father, Jason, co-founded the club
- Head coach Mike Schall served as an associate director at Triangle before arriving in Chapel Hill
YEAR THREE OF THE SCHALL ERA
- Entering year three, Coach Schall looks to build off the momentum of years one and two
- Carolina is receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and was picked fifth in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll
- In year one he went 13-14 and turned that around with a 23-8 record in 2024 with the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021
- UNC's first round victory over Yale was its first NCAA Tournament since 2016's 3-1 win over Coastal Carolina
WIN THE STATE
- Starting Sept. 16, the Tar Heels will have six of seven matches against five in-state opponents
- App State, ECU, Wake Forest, NC State, and Duke will all come to Chapel Hill with the stretch concluding on Oct. 4 with a trip to Duke
- In Coach Schall's time at Carolina he holds a 6-4 record against in-state opponents
CAROLINA ON MY MIND
- UNC's first 14 matches take place in either North Carolina or South Carolina
- During that stretch the Tar Heels will take on five opponents from North Carolina and three opponents from South Carolina
- Coach Schall 11-5 against teams from North and South Carolina
BEHIND THE SCHEDULE
- The Tar Heels will square off with 10 different teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season
- Seven of those teams reached the second round, four made it to the regional semifinals, three made the regional finals, two reached the national semifinals, and one was the national runner-up
- Five teams were in the top 25 of the final RPI last season and five more were between 26-50
- Carolina will make its first trip to Stanford in program history on Nov. 7, it'll also be making just the second trip to Berkeley to take on Cal on Nov. 9. The first trip happened in 2010
ATHLETIC PEDIGREE
- Jackie Taylor's father, Sean, played football for the University of Miami from 2001-2003 and was a member of the 2001 BCS National Championship team. He was the No. 5 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins where he was a two-time Pro-Bowl Selection (2006, 2007)
-Her mom, Jackie García, was a midfielder on the women's soccer team at the University of Miami
- Cadence Shea's father, Aaron, was a four-year letter winner on the University of Michigan football team from 1995-1999, before playing in the NFL from 2000-2006. Mother, Caitlin, was a fouryear letter winner on the Lehigh University soccer team from 1996-1999. Aaron was roommates with Tom Brady in college and Brady is the godfather to Cadence's brother
- Erin Curtis', father Jason was a captain on the Santa Clara men's volleyball team, sister Emily was a setter at Villanova and sister Maggie was a defensive specialist at Santa Clara
- Julia Bohlinger: Father Rob played football at the University of Wyoming (1993-98) and professionally in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers as a left tackle
- Carson Overbeck's mom, Carla, was a three-time All-America and four-time NCAA Champion on the UNC soccer team from 1986-89. She captained the 1995 U.S. World Cup squad that advanced to the semifinals and also served as captain of the 1996 U.S. Women's Soccer Olympic Team that won the gold medal. She is currently an assistant coach for the Duke women's soccer team

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Players Mentioned

Zoe Behrendt

Emily Bobbitt

Julia Bohlinger

Erin Curtis

Safi Hampton

Maddy May

Cadence Shea

Laynie Smith

Jackie Taylor