The UNC field hockey, volleyball and men’s soccer teams were in action during the weekend, and all came away with wins.

Following up on its comeback win at No. 9 Syracuse Friday, the field hockey team stayed in upstate New York as it traveled to Cornell for a non-conference matchup. The Tar Heels overwhelmed the Big Red early, leading 4-0 at halftime after both Kara and Ryleigh Heck found the back of the cage. UNC would score twice in the third and fourth quarters to win by an 8-1 final score. It’s the highest-scoring game for the Tar Heels this season. Kara Heck led the way with two goals, and six other Tar Heels scored once.

The win is UNC’s sixth in a row and improves the Tar Heels to 14-1 overall this season. Carolina will return home next Friday, October 24 at 5 p.m. for its final non-conference matchup of the regular season against Richmond at Karen Shelton Stadium.

The volleyball team was also on the road for two matches in the ACC. Traveling to Boston College Friday night, the Tar Heels got strong performances from Safi Hampton and Zoe Behrendt on their way to a 3-0 sweep of the Eagles. UNC led by as many as seven points at 19-12 late in the first set, but saw that lead evaporate quickly as Boston College tied the set at 22-22. Hampton then came through with two clutch points, the first on a kill and the second on a service ace, and the Tar Heels closed out the set on an Eagle error to win 25-22.

UNC cruised to a 25-15 win in the second set, but had to sweat out the third after falling behind 19-18. Hampton and Chelsea Thorpe each provided kills in response, kickstarting a 6-0 run to give the Tar Heels five match points. Hampton provided the cherry on top with yet another kill – her 13th of the night – to clinch the match. Behrendt finished with 20 assists.

Sunday at Syracuse, UNC kept the good times rolling in the first set, using two clutch kills from Thorpe late in the frame to win 25-23 and start the match on the front foot. But despite Carolina leading 15-8 midway through the second set, Syracuse rallied late with five unanswered points, flipping a 22-19 deficit into a 24-22 lead and two set points. The Orange converted the second on a UNC service error to tie the match at a set apiece.

Carolina responded in dominant fashion, using an 8-1 run to blow open what had been a competitive third set. The Tar Heels led 21-11 after the run and cruised from there, with two more kills from Thorpe sealing the 25-14 win. The momentum continued in the fourth set, with UNC winning 11 of the first 15 points to open a sizable lead. Syracuse never got closer than 15-10 after that, and kills from Hampton and Laynie Smith closed out the set and the match for UNC.

The Tar Heels are now 15-2 overall and 8-0 in ACC play this season. UNC is now alone in first place at the top of the league standings as the only team yet to drop a match in conference play. The Syracuse match was the fifth straight on the road for UNC, which will return home Friday, October 24 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Notre Dame at Carmichael Arena.

Later Sunday night, the men’s soccer team hosted Virginia Tech at Dorrance Field and dominated, defeating the Hokies 3-0. Freshman Dan Klink opened the scoring in the 31st minute with his fourth goal of the season, heading in a cross from Ryan Dugan. In the second half, Bertil Rygaard Hansen scored twice in a span of less than six minutes to seal the win for the Tar Heels, just their second in six ACC matches.

UNC is now 8-2-4 overall on the season and 2-0-4 in ACC play. The Tar Heels currently sit in seventh place in the conference standings with 10 points through six league matches. Up next for Carolina is a road trip to Syracuse next Saturday, October 25 at 3 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Volleyball on Twitter

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