Volleyball returns home with 6-0 record

Note: Due to a reporting error, the story incorrectly stated the volleyball team has a 5-0 record. The team is 6-0. The story has been updated to reflect the change.

His athletes were down by two sets amid a screaming crowd of about 4,000 fans nearly 400 miles away from home.

They had been out-served, out-passed and out-blocked in the Convocation Center of Athens, Ohio just hours after their first match of the day, and they were hanging by a thread.

And North Carolina volleyball coach Joe Sagula wasn’t quite sure how his team would fare.

“It could have gone one of two ways,” he said.

The final play was complete, the scoreboard read 15-8 in the fifth set, and the Tar Heels began to celebrate.

Sagula’s team had won three consecutive sets to stun the Bobcats.

His feelings of anxiety quickly vanished.

“We didn’t know what this team makeup was yet until you get challenged,” he said.

“And that was the first challenge.”

Now, boasting a 6-0 start for the first time in more than a decade, the Tar Heels are back in Carmichael Arena, the site of this weekend’s Carolina Classic.

They’re rested, they’re refocused, and after a full week of practice under their belts, they’re ready to get back on the court.

They’ll play three more games — one apiece with George Washington, James Madison and Albany — on their home court for the first time this season.

Outside hitter Leigh Andrew said the focus throughout the week has been defense.

“I think that’s an area that we’re good at, but we can be great at it,” she said.

“We just have to fine tune a couple things.”

She explained that the team has specifically been participating in a footwork drill, in which the players test how quickly they can move their feet through a figure-eight course.

Senior captain Kaitlyn Anderson said that agility is tested when the coaches send kills over the net for them to dig.

“You get in your position, and they’re tossing your ball out of your range and you’re working on running through a ball,” she said.

With a No. 18 ranking, the Tar Heels will be the only ranked team to take the court this weekend against three teams that shouldn’t pose as large of a challenge as Ohio did.

“It may not be at the same level … but I think they’ll present some challenges like Dayton and like Cincinnati,” he said.

“I think we do have a chance though to have other players earn some big playing time.”

He’s eager to showcase that depth and to see his Tar Heels carry their undefeated streak through the weekend.

“The goal is to win at home, not not to lose,” Sagula said. “The goal is to defend Carmichael. Defending Carmichael means to make sure we send every team away with a loss.”