UNC has been picked to finish fifth in the ACC’s preseason volleyball poll, and Tar Heels Chelsea Thorpe and Safi Hampton both were named to the league’s preseason All-ACC team.

Thorpe enters the final season of her collegiate career after posing 318 kills and 90 blocks in 2025, while Hampton’s 399 kills led the team. Hampton also finished with team highs in points (440.5), points per set (3.86) and kills per set (3.50). UNC’s two preseason All-ACC selections are its most since 2022.

Stanford was picked first in the preseason ACC Poll, earning 10 of 18 first-place votes. Pittsburgh, which won the conference last season and reached the Final Four, placed second with seven first-place votes. No. 3 Louisville (one first-place vote), No. 4 SMU and No. 5 UNC round out the top five. Those top five teams account for 16 of the 18 slots on the preseason All-ACC team, with No. 7 Miami and No. 8 Florida State each represented by one player.

UNC is looking to build on a successful 2025 season, one which saw the Tar Heels win an NCAA Tournament match for a second consecutive season and finish ranked No. 19 in the final AVCA Top 25 poll. Carolina upset No. 6 seed UTEP in the tournament’s first round before falling to No. 3 Wisconsin – which eventually reached the national semifinals – in the second round.

Carolina will usher in the 2026 season when it hosts its annual Blue & White scrimmage at Carmichael Arena Friday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. UNC will then host High Point in an exhibition match the following day at 8 p.m. before officially opening the regular season at Davidson Saturday, Aug. 29 at 2 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Nate Skvoretz

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