Sept. 9, 1999

Game Notes: Inntowner Invitational, Madison, Wisc. Sept.10-11

Last Week: The Tar Heels made a strong showing to open the season at the Long Beach State Tournament in California, finishing 2-2 in a field that included three Top 25 opponents. Carolina fell in their first two matches to No. 21 Southern Cal and No. 5 Long Beach State, however bounced back the next day to defeat No. 14 Illinois and Massachusetts in back-to-back five-game matches. Junior Casey Simpson led the Heels for the tournament with 50 kills, followed closely by All-ACC middle hitter Tori Seibert, who had 48. DS Liz Feldman tallied 45 digs and freshman setter Eve Rackham recorded 168 assists to lead UNC in their respective categories. All four players participated in all 17 games of the tournament.

On the Verge: After finishing 2-2 at the Long Beach State Tournament this past weekend, the Tar Heels received 81 votes in this week's AVCA Division-I coaches poll, ranking them No. 26. Wins over No. 14 Illinois and Massachusetts and hard-fought matches versus No. 5 Long Beach State and No. 21 Southern California helped UNC rise from their preseason ranking of No. 33.

In this week's poll, the Tar Heels next opponent, the Florida Gators, is ranked No. 6. Carolina will participate in the Inntowner Invitational this weekend in Madison, Wis., where they will face Florida on Friday and either Dayton or No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday.

Looking to Repeat: Led by their three seniors - Tori Seibert, Shannon Smith, and Asa Gustavsson - and junior Casey Simpson, the Tar Heels are looking to return to the success of last season and repeat as ACC regular-season champions. Those four lead the team in kills so far (Simpson 50, Seibert 48, Smith 39, and Gustavsson 32) and are all averaging more than two kills per game. Seibert and Smith return as All-ACC performers and coupled with '98 ACC Coach of the Year Joe Sagula, the Tar Heels should have an excellent opportunity to equal or better last year's 29-8 record, 13-3 in the ACC.

The Records: Seibert and Smith will have the opportunity to build on their status in the UNC record book. Tori Seibert is already listed in the Top 5 of four career categories and Smith is not far behind, listed in three. After the four matches this year, Seibert moved into first place in block assists in Tar Heel history. She now has 357, surpassing Amber Wiley's 340 (1993-96) for that record, and doing so in 49 fewer games.

Tori Seibert: 1st in block assists (357), 1st in hitting percentage (.348), 1st in blocking average (1.10), and 4th in kill average (3.55).

Shannon Smith: 2nd in blocking average (1.07), 3rd in block assists (286), and 4th in solo blocks (87).

The Freshmen: Three out of four of the Tar Heel freshmen have already seen action this season. Setter Eve Rackham has started in all four matches and leads the team with 168 assists. She has also played in all 17 games. Malaika Underwood and Laura Greene have also played in ten and six games respectively.

The Opponents:

   
@ WISCONSIN  CLASSIC                  
Friday      Sept. 10    Florida                5:00 p.m.      Madison, Wis.
Saturday    Sept. 11    Dayton or Wisconsin    5 or 7 p.m.    Madison, Wis.

Florida Gators - Rank: 6 Record: 4-2 (0-0 SEC) The Florida Gators enter the Inntowner Invitational with a 4-2 record and a number six ranking. Florida has already faced three Top 5 opponents and registered a win over then-No. 1 Penn State (15-12, 8-15, 15-10, 10-15, 15-12), took then-No. 6 and currently-No. 1 Pacific to five games (19-9, 14-16, 10-15, 15-9, 10-15), and most recently, was defeated by No. 3 Nebraska (16-18, 15-9, 6-15, 6-15). Jenny Whitehead leads the Gators with 105 kills and a 4.57 k/game average, while setter Jen Sanchez has recorded 304 assists for a 13.82 per-game average. Florida also has three players averaging over three digs per game, Kris Bova (3.04), Jerilyn Hattendorf (3.22), and Jen Sanchez (3.77). Florida leads the series 7-1. The teams' last meeting was 1994, a 3-0 Florida win.

Wisconsin Badgers - Rank: 13 Record: 3-1 (0-0 Big Ten) Wisconsin enters the Inntowner Invitational having won three straight matches after a season-opening upset loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee. However, Wisconsin's first four games have been played without sophomore Sherisa Livingston. A 6-2 middle blocker on the Wisconsin volleyball team, she was named the Best Blocker at the 1999 FIVB Junior World Championship in Saskatoon, Canada, from Aug. 28 through Sept. 4. Livingston, who was the only member of the U.S. National Team honored, averaged 1.17 blocks per game. She also ranked second on the U.S. team with 1.67 kills per game. In her absence, the Badgers were led by Jenny Maastricht, who led the team in digs with a 2.933 average and blocks with 1.467 average, and is second in kills with a 3.4 average. Wisconsin leads the series 4-0. The last meeting was in 1993, a 3-1 win for the Badgers.

Dayton Flyers - Rank: N/A Record: 3-3 (0-0 Atlantic 10) The Dayton Flyers are 3-3 this season, after a loss in their most recent match against Cincinnati. Four starters return from the '98 team that finished 23-8 overall, 16-4 in the Atlantic 10. The 16-4 mark was good for a tie for first in the conference. Dayton leads the all-time series 1-0, with the only meeting 2-0 win in 1979.