UNC and Duke have postponed their non-conference volleyball matchup scheduled for Sunday as a result of Hurricane Florence‘s approach to the state. No makeup date has been announced. The school has also cancelled its football game against Central Florida, cancelled women’s tennis tournaments, and postponed its women’s field hockey games.
The school says that a major concern in cancellation, besides the imminent danger of the storm itself, is the need to clear hotel rooms for people who might be displaced by the storm closer to the coast. Chapel Hill is located about 150 miles from where the center of the storm is expected to make landfall.
“Hosting a major college football game is a massive undertaking that on a good day involves fans and thousands of state, local and campus personnel, including public safety officials, traveling from all over the area. The current forecast for both the impact and aftermath of the hurricane would require those officials to divert critical resources from what could be much more significant duties. We can’t know for certain the amount of damage the storm will inflict, but the sensible decision at this time is to not play the game,” said Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham in announcing the decision.
Chapel Hill (home of UNC) and Durham (home of Duke) are located just a few miles apart, making rescheduling relatively easy. The teams will play twice during the ACC season, with Sunday’s match officially not being a conference match, though it carries conference emotions between the two arch-rivals. Depending on the extent of damage caused by Florence, which is currently a category 4 hurricane, the match could be made up mid-week next week, before conference play even begins.
Other NCAA Volleyball Cancelled (with links for more):
- UNCW Seahawk Invitational, Wilmington, North Carolina tournament cancelled – South Carolina State, Western Carolina, Charleston Southern, Providence, UNCW
- North Dakota State cancelled its trip to play UNC and Duke, and is looking for other local matches.
- Coastal Carolina cancelled the Coastal Carolina classic in Conway, South Carolina – Coastal Carolina, TCU, College of Charleston, #9 Pitt
- Campbell Invitational, Buies Creek, North Carolina – Campbell, Loyola (MD), North Carolina Central, Mercer
- William & Mary Second Colonial Invitational, Williamsburg Virginia – Lehigh, Morgan State, East Carolina, William & Mary
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