UNC Volleyball 2025-2026

[3397char]

UNC voted 5th in the ACC preseason poll and Safi Hampton is a preseason first-team

2025 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team and Coaches Poll Announced

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) - Pitt was voted the preseason favorite to win the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Championship for the second straight year by the league’s volleyball head coaches, it was announced on Thursday.

theacc.com

we finoshed last season in 5th place, were in the others receiving votes category on the final national -I’ll. We finished in the round of 32 in the tourney

 

[Jriv23]

Our volleyball team is making noise. Way to go ladies. Keep rocking. I am behind you 100%. A wonderful testament to our coaching staff and everyone who is involved with the volleyball program. Keep recruiting at a high level and keep on bringing in quality transfers. Go Heels!

 

[UNCAlum83]

VB is a ticketed sport this season, $15/reserved; $10/GA. There is no season ticket option, so you'll have to purchase each game individually. It was not easy; unlike soccer tix, you don't have the option to purchase multiple games before checking out. I wound up calling the ticket office. If you're looking to purchase tickets for all or most of the season, I would suggest a call.

 

[TAHeel]

Have to admit a level of disappointment, even if I understand the power of the almighty dollar. Have enjoyed being able to pop in for any Volleyball match I wanted to over the previous years without needing to have planned in advance.

 

[JOB1937]

Gotta think that is gonna really lower attendance. I get it for the revenue needed but don’t you need to build a fan base?

 

[3397char]

 

[bradarb08]

Receiving votes in the preseason poll. By points, we’d be No. 28. This team has the potential to be very good… best team we’ve had since 2016.

 

[unc80]

Bad idea to charge admission. I remember talking Joe Sagula a few years ago and he wished for the day when lots of people would pay to come to their matches. I'm not sure that day has come.

 

[Jriv23]

I guess they need money. They have to find a way to generate money like some of the top schools in volleyball. This was going to happen sooner or later, especially if they are trying to get ready for the SEC conference in a few years from now.

 

[3397char]

Top 10 hitter in the 2026 class???

 

[bradarb08]

I’m not saying she’s not good, but I wouldn’t put much stock in MaxPrep’s ratings.

 

[Jriv23]

Bradarb08, I hear what you are saying; however, I need to ask you a two questions. What state is known for producing great volleyball players? What college team has been a major power house in women's volleyball? The answer to both of those questions is Nebraska. If she is ranked in the top 10 as far as hitters are concerned and you look at some of the colleges the other 9 have signed to play next year, the majority of those players are headed to some of the best women's college volleyball teams in the nation. For us to get her and to grab her out of the state of Nebraska is insane. A lot of players from the state of Nebraska tend to go to a big 10 school preferable Nebraska or a mid-west school.

 

[JoeyPowell]

Hosting a pod with Coach Schall today. Should post very soon. Any big questions y’all want asked?

 

[TAHeel]

1. Would love his thoughts on changing to a paid attendance model, not sure if he'll be able to truly provide full views.
2. Has having a staff full of young assistants been a purposeful strategy or a coincidental one, and have there been pros/cons?
3. Is anybody going to be hitting the hard diving topsin serve that we saw from Mabrey the last few years, and if not does that impact our serving strategy at all?
4. How does this year's team compare with others he had as an assistant from a talent level?
5. If someone were to open conversations on restarting the ACC Tournament, what would his views be?

Love seeing the Olympic sports get some coverage!

Believe this just leaves XC, Football, and Men's Soccer without a coach interview. We won't get 1 for football, wouldn't shock me if Somoano wasn't interested in participating, but would be good to hear from Miltenberg with that program in a huge change year.


@JoeyPowell

 

[JOB1937]

Agreed about the charging admission. I know that the athletic department needs to generate revenue but that decision is gonna hurt attendance severely.

 

[rayram]

What is one thing the coach would like to have that would help him build the team? I assume more NIL money.

 

[3397char]

Would love to hear how they find, identify and recruit talent? And how many scholarships specifically at UNC this year they have to work with with the new NCAA limit increase.

Name a couple of players you expect to emerge this season.

 

[Jriv23]

Those are some great questions.

 

[bradarb08]

It's probably too late, but... Will Volleyball look to add a Teraflex floor to Carmichael? It is now required for any school that hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (top 16 seeds), they must have one.

 

[JoeyPowell]

So I got a few of these in with Coach Schall. He was great and it was a fun conversation. Should post tomorrow. Thanks for contributing!

 

[3397char]

It's probably too late, but... Will Volleyball look to add a Teraflex floor to Carmichael? It is now required for any school that hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (top 16 seeds), they must have one.

Ooh, great question

 

[3397char]

2027 5-10 outside hitter Kalia Kroth commits to UNC

#6 VB player in IL
Honorable Mention A-A by prepvolleyball.com

 

[Jriv23]

Welcome to the family Kalia. I love that Carolina blue that you and your sister are wearing. It looks good on both of you. Go Heels!

 

[3397char]

 

[HONKYTONKTARASSOCIATION]

Somewhat informative and fairly open pod interview. Enjoyed more than I expected for someone that doesn’t care a ton for interviews.
Excited for the season

 

[JoeyPowell]

Somewhat informative and fairly open pod interview. Enjoyed more than I expected for someone that doesn’t care a ton for interviews.
Excited for the season

Thanks! We do it because we want our subscribers to hear from the sports they care about, which we realize isn’t always just the rev sports. Coach was very gracious and I hope to see them do well this season.

 

[UNCAlum83]

Heels swept the 4-set exhibition with Winthrop tonight, 25-17, 25-15, 25-20 & 25-11. Just relaying the score since I wasn't able to attend and give a full recap.

 

[bradarb08]

Heels looked good. Very talented and very, very deep. Hard to imagine another ACC with the RSs we have. And Safi was preseason all ACC and looks very good.

Biggest question is who gets the second outside spot: Hailey Pearce (junior transfer from VT (Charlotte native)) or true freshman Bridget Malone. Pearce has good skills and is experienced… Malone has a great arm, good all around… both great size. It’s going to be difficult keeping Malone off the court.

Looks like Makenzie Boyer (LSU transfer) has locked the second middle spot with Jackie Taylor.

Should expect a good season!

 

[bradarb08]

Also Winthrop head coach is 05 grad Heather Gearhart. They had a nice gift and callout for her return to Carmichael and a host of her teammates were there.

 

[Jriv23]

I would play both of them a lot if it were me. Thanks for the updates. I am glad to hear that the women's basketball team came out to support the Volleyball team. I love it when other teams on campus come and show love to the other teams on campus by coming out and supporting them. Go Heels!

 

[3397char]

Here is the preseason coach's poll that @bradarb08 mentioned earlier:

DI Women's Volleyball Rankings - AVCA Rankings | NCAA.com

Get updated NCAA Women's Volleyball DI rankings from every source, including coaches and national polls.

www.ncaa.com

RANK	SCHOOL	TOTAL POINTS	RECORD
RANK	SCHOOL	TOTAL POINTS	RECORD
1	Nebraska (40)	1490	0-0
2	Penn State (21)	1459	0-0
3	Pittsburgh	1338	0-0
4	Louisville	1240	0-0
5	Texas	1223	0-0
6	Stanford	1200	0-0
7	Kentucky	1181	0-0
8	Wisconsin	1167	0-0
9	Texas A&M	844	0-0
10	SMU	830	0-0
11	Minnesota	811	0-0
12	Creighton	778	0-0
13	Arizona State	707	0-0
14	Kansas	626	0-0
15	Purdue	591	0-0
16	Florida	570	0-0
17	Missouri	541	0-0
18	UCLA	456	0-0
19	BYU	362	0-0
20	Baylor	338	0-0
21	Southern California	319	0-0
22	Georgia Tech	298	0-0
23	Utah	282	0-0
24	Dayton	225	0-0
25	TCU	182	0-0

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: Tennessee 126; Oregon 124; North Carolina 113; Marquette 94; Western Kentucky 40; Oklahoma 37; Miami (FL) 34; Washington 34; Florida State 33; Houston 26; Hawai'i 20; San Diego 18; Arkansas 10; Rice 10; Arizona 4; Northern Iowa 4
Pitt and Stanford started early in a preseason showcase. Pitt starts off 0-2 with a loss to Nebraska (expected) and FL (minor upset), Stanford beats FL, but get swept by Nebraska.

 

[Nate1972]

UNC beats Md. 3-1 (21-25 25-17 25-17 25-17)

 

[Jriv23]

Way to go ladies. Go Heels!

 

[TAHeel]

Current ACC Evollve computer rankings

#2 Pitt
#4 Stanford
#5 Louisville
#19 SMU
#21 Georgia Tech
#27 UNC
#29 Miami
#30 Florida State
#49 NC State
#65 Notre Dame
#67 California
#77 Boston College
#90 Wake Forest
#96 Clemson
#97 Virginia
#130 Duke
#192 Syracuse
#227 Virginia Tech

Maryland is currently #89, Coastal is #134.

They have UNC 82% to win today. 43% 3-0, 27% 3-1, 12% 3-2, 7% 2-3, 7% 1-3, 4% 0-3.

 

[bradarb08]

Current ACC Evollve computer rankings

#2 Pitt
#4 Stanford
#5 Louisville
#19 SMU
#21 Georgia Tech
#27 UNC
#29 Miami
#30 Florida State
#49 NC State
#65 Notre Dame
#67 California
#77 Boston College
#90 Wake Forest
#96 Clemson
#97 Virginia
#130 Duke
#192 Syracuse
#227 Virginia Tech

Maryland is currently #89, Coastal is #134.

They have UNC 82% to win today. 43% 3-0, 27% 3-1, 12% 3-2, 7% 2-3, 7% 1-3, 4% 0-3.

Interesting… Coastal beat Maryland.

 

[TAHeel]

UNC trailed 17-18 and then the two teams traded points all the way until Coastal got a block at 23-24 to win the set.

 

[TAHeel]

25-18 in set 2.

 

[TAHeel]

25-16 3rd

 

[TAHeel]

Led 24-12 then dropped 5 but did get it across the line. 2-0! Hoping the person that did the RPI futures last year posts them again soon.

 

[bradarb08]