Dec. 4, 2002

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No. 13 North Carolina (30-3), the 11th seed in the tournament, takes on Winthrop (28-10) in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament this Thursday at approximately 7 p.m. in Carmichael Auditorium. The match will follow a first-round match at 5 p.m. between South Carolina and American.

The first-round winners will face off Friday at 7 p.m. in Carmichael Auditorium.

Last season the Tar Heels hosted NCAA Tournament action for the first time, topping South Carolina 3-1 in the first round before falling to Pepperdine (0-3) the following day. The team has a 2-7 all time record in the tournament, with the other win coming in 1998 over Oral Roberts. Both of the Tar Heel's second round losses have come to Pepperdine. Carolina has a 2-2 record all-time vs. Winthrop with the last meeting in 1997.

All session passes are available prior to the event date by calling the North Carolina Ticket Office at 919-962-2296. Adult passes are $10, students and seniors are $6 and children are $4. Tickets at the door are $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and $3 for children. One ticket gains admission to both matches.

Scouting Winthrop
Winthrop arrives in Chapel Hill with their first NCAA Tournament bid and with a 28-10 overall record, the program's best-ever in Division 1. The team received the automatic bid from the Big South Conference.

The Eagles broke into the tournament by winning their conference tournament as the No. 3 seed, beating fourth-seeded Liberty in the championship game 3-0. They defeated sixth-seeded Radford 3-0 in the opening round before knocking off second-seeded Coastal Carolina 3-1 in the semi-finals.

During the regular season, the team had a 25-10 record with an 11-3 mark in the Big South. The only common opponent the Eagles and the Tar Heels shared in 2002 was Wake Forest. The Eagles fell to the Demon Deacons 3-0 (20-30, 16-30, 16-30). Carolina topped Wake Forest 3-0 and 3-1 in ACC play this season.

The Eagles are lead by Logan Pierce, who set a school record with 687 kills this season. The mark earned her Big South Player of the Year honors, meaning she will face off vs. ACC Player of the Year Laura Greene.

Thursday's match will be the fifth meeting between the schools, but the first since North Carolina evened the all-time series at 2-2 with a 2-0 win Oct. 20, 1977. This is the team's second meeting in post-season play, with UNC winning 2-0 in the 1976 AIAW South Region Tournament.

Scouting American
The Eagles enter the tournament for the second time in as many years. Their 2002 regular season mark was 26-7.

American ran the table in both the regular season and the tournament of the Patriot League, with a perfect 14-0 conference record.

American comes into the tournament off a loss to Temple last Saturday which snapped an 18-match winning streak, the fourth longest in the nation.

The team's had three common opponents this season, with both the Tar Heels and the Eagles topping Georgetown and Duke, while the Eagles fell to Wisconsin - a team Carolina beat.

The two-time Patriot League Player of the Year Karla Kucerkova leads the Eagles. This season she averaged 4.49 kills per game and 2.59 digs per game while hitting .307. Courtney Mulford averaged 11.00 assists per game and was a second-team All-Patriot honoree along with Cathy Fluegeman, Cutrina Biddulph and Judit Szekelyhidi.

The Eagles have lost in all five matches vs. North Carolina, with the most recent meeting coming Sept. 17, 1999 in Chapel Hill, a 3-1 Tar Heel win.

Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina got an at large bid with a 21-6 record the season. This is the team's sixth trip to the tournament in the last eight years. The team is currently ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll.

The Gamecocks finished the regular season with just two conference losses, both coming to tournament No. 5 seed Florida.

Common opponents with the Tar Heels this season included Georgetown, Clemson and San Diego. Both the Tar Heels and South Carolina topped Georgetown and Clemson, while North Carolina beat San Diego and the Gamecocks fell to the Toreros.

South Carolina was lead by first-team All-SEC performers Niece Curry and Megan Hosp. Curry hit .401 the season with 3.27 kills and 1.10 blocks per game. Hosp averages 12.16 assists per game and 2.93 digs per game. Cally Plummer and Berna Dwyer were second-team All-SEC selections as well.

The Tar Heels hold the all-time series edge 10-5, with the teams last meeting in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. North Carolina won that match 3-1.

Tar Heels Earn Post Season Honors
Senior outside hitter Laura Greene was named 2002 ACC Player of the Year and first team All-ACC along with senior setter Eve Rackham. Sophomore outside hitter Molly Pyles was named second-team All-ACC, as voted on by the league's nine head coaches. This is the fifth-straight season that Carolina has had at least two representatives on the first team.

Laura Greene, Outside Hitter
This is Greene's second straight season on the team. She was also named to the second team as a sophomore and the all freshman team her rookie year.

Greene has recorded 21 double-doubles and was twice named conference Player of the Week. She is second in the ACC with 4.47 kills per game and second with 3.96 digs per game. She set a UNC record with 1,510 career digs and also has 1,633 kills in her Carolina tenure.

She is the fourth North Carolina player to win the award and the first since Erin Berg in 1998.

Eve Rackham, Setter
Rackham makes her first appearance on the all conference first team. She was named to the All-ACC freshman team her rookie season. A four-year starter at setter, she has recorded 5,579 assists in her career. This is third best ever at UNC and the fifth best total in ACC history. This season she is was fourth in the conference with 12.89 assists per games while the Tar Heels hit .246.

Molly Pyles, Outside Hitter

After being named to the freshman team last season, Pyles earned second-team all- conference honors this year. She is ranked second on the team and eighth in the ACC with 3.49 kills per game. She recorded double-digit kills in 75 percent of the team's conference games while hitting .294 in conference play. She also averaged 2.96 digs per game this season, 10th in the ACC.

Joe Sagula, Head Coach

Head coach Joe Sagula was named ACC Coach of the Year as voted on by the conference head coaches.

This season he earned his 100th ACC win Oct. 10 vs. Duke and his career conference record now stands at 111-63 (.677). He is one of three coaches in the history of the conference to reach this milestone.

This is the third time a North Carolina coach earned this honor and the second time Sagula has won the award, the other occasion coming in 1998. His career record is 472-284 overall and 269-161 at UNC.

Tar Heels Make National Impression
North Carolina has been ranked nationally for a school-record 14 consecutive weeks in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll, and currently they are ranked No. 13. Earlier this season the team set an ACC record for highest-ever ranking at No. 11.

The team's 3-1 upset over then No. 10 Wisconsin the first weekend of the season vaulted the team into the national rankings, and the Tar Heels have not looked back since. A loss to then No. 13 Minnesota and a pair of losses to Florida State are the only two blemishes on the team's record this season.

This season the team is 3-1 vs. ranked teams, including a pair of wins vs. ACC rival Georgia Tech. Wisconsin is now ranked two spots behind the Tar Heels at No. 15 while Minnesota is at No. 10. Georgia Tech is ranked 17th.

Captains Earn Honors
North Carolina seniors co-captains Laura Greene and Malaika Underwood have been named to the Verizon Academic All-District 3 University Division Volleyball Team. Underwood was named to the first team, and Greene was named to the second team. Greene is a psychology major with a 3.45 gpa. Underwood is an international studies major with a 3.83 gpa.

Tar Heels in the ACC/NCAA Rankings

Aletha Green: NCAA: 30th in hitting (.363), ACC: second in hitting (.363) and seventh in blocks (1.11 per game). Holly Strauss: ACC: fourth with 1.13 blocks per game. Laura Greene: ACC: second in digs (3.96 per game), second in kills (4.47 per game) and sixth in aces (0.34 per game). Eve Rackham: NCAA: 26th with 12.89 assists per game, ACC: third in assists. Molly Pyles:ACC: is eighth with 3.49 kills per game and 10th with 2.96 digs per game. Malaika Underwood: ACC: is seventh with 3.06 digs per game. Team: NCAA:Ninth in winning percentage (.909), 11th with 15.27 assists per game, 20th with 16.45 kills per game and 22nd with 17.88 digs per game. ACC: The Tar Heels lead the ACC in digs and are second in blocks (2.68 per game), kills and assists. They are third in hitting (.246) and aces (1.53).

Solid From the Start
Carolina started the season strong, with a 21-1 record before recording their second loss. The team's previous best record before a second loss was 15-1 in 1981.

Tar Heels' Defense Strong
The team is both second in the conference in blocks per game (2.68) and digs (17.88) and they are holding opponents to a .168 hitting percentage this season. Six times UNC opponents hit less than .100. In 23 matches opponents hit less than .200. Only three opponents have hit above .245 this season, and those matches were each of the team's losses.

Win Streaks Set The Pace
From Sept. 17 to Oct. 22 the Tar Heels put together a 13-game winning streak, the second longest in school history. The previous long was 15 games in 1999. At home the Tar Heels have won 16 straight.

Seniors Shine At Tourney Time
Laura Greene was named MVP of the Carolina/Nike Classic while totalling 43 kills and 38 digs in three matches.

Malaika Underwood earned MVP honors at the University of San Diego Classic in her hometown, putting up 15 kills and 17 digs vs. now 25th-ranked USD.

Eve Rackham was named to the All-ACC Tournament team as well.