Sept. 15, 2009
2009 Statistics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina volleyball team will play matches on the road this weekend against Delaware Friday and American University Sunday. The Heels will travel to Newark, Del. Friday to take on the 4-5 Blue Hens at 7:00 p.m. and Washington D.C. Sunday to face the 2-7 Eagles at 2:00 p.m. Carolina is coming off a frustrating weekend hosting the Carolina Classic, as the Heels dropped two of three games to fall to 4-5 overall.
The Tar Heels battled back from two sets down Friday to defeat a talented Tennessee team 3-2 in front of 918 fans at the Dean E. Smith Center. Setter Erica Behm set a new career high in the match with 59 assists and senior middle blocker Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland tied her previous career high of 17 kills in the contest. The rest of the Carolina Classic was not as successful as the Heels were swept by both Marshall and Colorado State Saturday. The two losses marks the first time since Aug. 29 & 30, 2008 in which the Heels lost back-to-back games 3-0 and their third 3-0 loss of the season.
Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland's play was a bright spot of the tournament as she claimed All-Tournament honors for the second week in a row. Hanson-Tuntland totaled 31 kills and nine blocks in the three games over the weekend. Fellow middle blocker Heather Brooks complied 27 kills and seven blocks on the weekend as well. Not to be outdone, freshman Emily McGee notched 32 kills in the three games this weekend.
Slow Starts - Carolina has suffered through numerous slow starts in the young 2009 season. The Heels are 3-6 in the first set this season and have dropped the first two sets in five out of nine contests. Remarkably, the Tar Heels have gone on to win two of the matches in which they were down 2-0. Carolina's best first set of the year was a 25-20 win over No. 20 Wichita State, the Heels later lost the match 3-1.
Talented Newcomers - Carolina has added a stout 2009 class along with a dynamic senior transfer this season.
Branagan Fuller, a transfer from UNC Greensboro, is fifth on the team with 56 kills and posted 15 kills in the win over Tennessee this weekend. Freshman outside hitters
Emily McGee and
Heather Henry have each added a offensive punch for the Heels in 2009. McGee
ranks sixth in the ACC with 3.16 kills per set, a clip that leads the Tar Heels. McGee has notched double-digit kills in three games this season. Henry adds 25 kills on the season, including a 10 kill and .562 hitting percentage performance in the win over Tennessee. Freshman
Cora Harms adds depth at the setter position registering 3.77 assists per set.
Competition for Starting Spots - The Heels have 18 players on their roster in 2009, up two players from a year ago. Carolina has rotated at the libero position between sophomore Kaylie Gibson and Aleksandra Georgieva. The outside hitter position might offer the most competition, between junior Suzanne Haydel, sophomore Courtney Johnston, seniors Branagan Fuller and Megan Owens and freshmen Emily McGee and Heather Henry. All have seen time at the outside or right-side hitter postions and are still vying for a starting slot.
ACC Play Looms - The Heels will open conference play a week from this Friday at Clemson Sept. 25. Carolina then travel to Atlanta, Ga. to face Georgia Tech on Sunday Sept. 27. One conference match has already been played as Georgia Tech defeated Clemson 3-2 to improve to 1-0 in ACC play. Three ACC matches will take place this Friday as Miami is at Florida State, Duke at Wake Forest and Virginia Tech is at Virginia. The Hokies are currently 9-0 this season making them the only undefeated team remaining in the ACC, as Wake Forest is 0-9. Florida State is 8-1 this season and the lone team ranked in this week's AVCA poll, checking in at 19.
