Nov. 11, 2009

Weekly Match Notes

ACC Standings

Weekly NCAA RPI

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina volleyball team is 14-12 overall and 10-5 in league play entering a five-game road trip. Carolina defeated N.C. State (3-0), Virginia (3-1) and Virginia Tech (3-2) last week to improve to 10-5 in the ACC. Carolina will finish the regular season with five matches, all on the road, starting this weekend. Carolina celebrated the careers of four seniors Sunday - Megan Owens, Branagan Fuller, Heather Brooks and Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland - with a wild win over Virginia Tech 3-2. After three victories last week, head coach Joe Sagula is only two wins away from 600 career victories.

Ample Attack - Carolina will use two or three outside hitters each match to be effective. Head coach Joe Sagula suggests the Virginia Tech match was a good indication of that idea, "this match was probably a perfect example of how we need to use our outside hitters." The Tar Heels played Emily McGee (17 kills), Branagan Fuller and Suzanne Haydel (each with 6 kills) in that match. McGee has started three matches in a row registering 40 kills in that span. Fuller has posted double-digit kills in five of her last seven starts. Haydel leads the team with seven double-double performances in kills and digs.

Middle blockers Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland and Heather Brooks still anchor the Carolina attack, ranking one and two on the team in kills and hitting percentage. Hanson-Tuntland has posted 14 double-digit kills matches, to lead the team, including a career-tying 17 kills six different times. Brooks posts a .327 hitting percentage, her highest of her career, to lead the team.

Megan Owens has seen action as a right-side hitter as of late to compliment Courtney Johnston. Owens registered 13 kills and a .444 hitting percentage on senior day in a 3-2 win over Virginia Tech. Johnston notched 11 kills in a 3-1 win over Virginia last Friday.

Dynamic Defense - Carolina leads the ACC in digs posting 17.12 digs per set led by libero Kaylie Gibson's 4.80 digs per set. The Tar Heels also led the league in digs last season. Six different Tar Heels post 120 or more digs this season, as setter Cora Harms has notched 132 of her 192 digs in the last 10 matches. In addition, Harms has registered at least 30 assists in every conference match she has played.

Carolina has recorded 36.5 blocks in their last four matches led by Heather Brooks 23 blocks in that same span. Brooks already ranks second all-time in school history in block assists with 382 in her career. The East Lansing, Mich. product notched four of her six block assists in the final set against Virginia Tech Sunday.

Milestone Watch - Head coach Joe Sagula is on the brink of accomplishing a feat only 16 Division-I coaches has ever done - winning 600 games. Sagula has earned 598 career victories, including 395 at Carolina, in his 29 year career. The Bronx, N.Y. native also posts 193 ACC wins, more than any other coach in ACC history.