Feb. 19, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Four North Carolina volleyball players will head West this weekend to participate in the U.S. Women's Volleyball Team tryout set to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo. from Feb. 20-22. Heather Brooks, Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland, Suzanne Haydel and Christine Vaughen will all represent North Carolina at the tryout.

"This is a great honor and opportunity for our program's top players to compete against the best players in the country," head coach Joe Sagula said.

Heather Brooks was an all-ACC second team selection after leading the Tar Heels in attack percentage (.310), while averaging 1.07 blocks per set. The East Lansing, Mich., native finished 10th in the ACC in blocks per set as she tallied a total of 115 blocks on the year.

Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland joined Brooks on the all-ACC second team as she delivered 149 kills on the year and was a force for the Tar Heels on defense as she averaged a team-best 1.34 blocks per set. Hanson-Tuntland's impressive blocking numbers were only outdone by ACC Player of the Year Danielle Hepburn.

Suzanne Haydel appeared in every match during the 2008 season for the Tar Heels and finished second on the team in kills and kills per set with 287 kills for an average of 2.66 per set. Haydel was also a force on the defensive side as she ranked second on the team with 3.29 digs per set, trailing only the ACC's career dig leader Brianna Eskola.

Christine Vaughen will be the third middle blocker the Tar Heels will send to Colorado Springs. The Simi Valley, Calif., native ranked second on the team with a .296 attack percentage and was third with 2.09 kills per set. Vaughen finished shy of joining Brooks and Hanson-Tuntland with 1.00 kills per set as she finished the season with 0.83 per outing.

"The spring season is an opportunity to test yourself, and improve your game and face new challenges. This will be a good measure for each player to compete and have some extra training time in preparation for next season," Sagula added. "I am delighted that UNC can provide this opportunity for our student-athletes and that USA Volleyball can create a competitive environment for these players to train and compete at the international level."

The players will compete among a field of 162 current collegiate volleyball players who have at least one remaining year of eligibility. Those not selected to participate with the National Team will be considered for other programs run by USA Volleyball, including the US Women's Junior National Team or the USA Women's Senior A2 Teams.

The complete tryout roster can be found at the USA Volleyball site.