On a frenzied Friday night in Chapel Hill, the UNC field hockey and volleyball teams each picked up thrilling ranked wins.
At Karen Shelton Stadium, the top-ranked Tar Heels hosted No. 8 Duke in the regular-season finale for both teams. But the Blue Devils threatened the steal the thunder early, opening the scoring midway through the first quarter and putting Carolina in a 1-0 hole. Though the Tar Heels controlled most of the scoring chances for the remainder of the first half, UNC entered the locker room behind.
Carolina finally found a breakthrough in the third quarter, as Isabel Boere scored off a penalty corner with Duke down a player. The Tar Heels continued to knock on the door and forced a save from the Blue Devil goalie with less than three minutes remaining, but could not find a go-ahead score in the waning minutes. The game went to sudden-victory overtime.
In the overtime, it took just 3:37 for Dani Mendez to secure the win. The Virginia transfer brought the ball toward the Duke circle on a long run before passing to teammate Ryleigh Heck. Heck eventually worked her way inside the circle, then dished the ball across the Blue Devil cage and onto the stick of Mendez, who redirected it for the winning goal.
The 2-1 win is Carolina’s eighth in a row and clinches a share of the ACC regular-season title for the Tar Heels. UNC finished tied with Wake Forest and Virginia at 7-1 in league play. Up next for the team is the ACC Tournament in Louisville next week. UNC has won eight consecutive ACC Tournament championships and 27 overall.
Later that night, the volleyball team welcomed No. 7 SMU to Carmichael Arena. The match started in dominant fashion for the Tar Heels, who erupted to a 22-11 lead in the first set and eventually won 25-19 to take an early advantage. The second set was much more competitive, as the two teams traded blows constantly. The Tar Heels and Mustangs played to ties at 15-15, 16-16, 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23. But it was SMU who struck the deciding blow, getting two straight kills from Malaya Jones to clinch the set 25-23.
The third set was tight as well, with Carolina using a 10-4 run in the middle stages to take a 20-17 lead after trailing 13-10. A pair of Mustang service errors put the Tar Heels on the brink, and a kill from Hailey Pearce on set point sealed the 25-22 win. UNC was a set away from the win. But the celebrations would have to wait, as SMU dominated the fourth set. The Mustangs won nine of the first 10 points and cruised from there, winning 25-13 and forcing a first-to-15 fifth set.
UNC kept it closer in the fifth but found itself trailing 9-7 midway through the set. With the match on the line, powerful kills from Chelsea Thorpe and Safi Hampton bookended a 4-0 Carolina run, flipping the scoreboard into an 11-9 UNC lead. The Mustangs bounced back, tying the match at 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13. A clutch kill from Hampton gave Carolina a sim 14-13 lead and gave the Tar Heels match point, setting the stage for Lauren Schutter to slam the door.
The five-set win is UNC’s second against a ranked opponent this season, and also the first against a Top 10 opponent since 2016. The No. 7 Mustangs are the highest-ranked opponent the Tar Heels have defeated in head coach Mike Schall’s three-year tenure in Chapel Hill.
Carolina is now 17-3 overall and 10-1 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will host their third straight Top 10 opponent Sunday afternoon when No. 4 Pittsburgh visits Carmichael Arena at 1:30 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Dalton T. Wainscott
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