Volleyball clinches two tough ACC wins

It took the better part of a season, but North Carolina volleyball has figured out its identity.

This weekend, the Tar Heels won their two toughest conference matches to date and reestablished themselves as title contenders. Now they know where they stand in the ACC and who their starters are.

“It’s a statement to ourselves to say OK, we beat Duke at our place, and we’re that good,” coach Joe Sagula said. “And we can be that good when we put it together.”

By defeating Duke on Friday and Wake Forest on Sunday, UNC improved to 6-2 in the ACC. While the Tar Heels are still No. 4 in the conference standings, they cut the distance between them and second place to half of a game.

A big reason for UNC’s recent success has been the newly established player rotation.

After experimenting with different lineups and rotations throughout the first half of the season, Sagula has used similar starting lineups in the past three matches.

After freshman hitters saw plenty of playing time earlier in the season, now all of the starters at hitting positions are upperclassmen, with the exception of redshirt sophomore right-side hitter Courtney Johnston.

“People are starting to know their role on the team, which I think was a little blurry at first,” Johnston said.

The player who established herself as the one to get the ball to those hitters is freshman setter Cora Harms. Sagula said she came on strong during the season, not having any pressure to lead the team.

Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland said it has helped to have a more consistent lineup playing around her.

“When we change things up in the game, people just — I don’t know if they freak out, but it’s more comforting to know that we have a consistent lineup,” Hanson-Tuntland said.

Perhaps the biggest improvement for the Tar Heels has been on defense.

After sophomore Kaylie Gibson established herself as the team’s libero, Sagula had her play middle back instead of left back. Middle back is a deeper position, allowing Gibson to use her quickness to get to softly balls hit to either deep corner of the court.

Also stepping up defensively for UNC have been sophomore Aleksandra Georgieva and freshman Cayla Shortley. Their ability to come up with digs has been key to the Tar Heels’ recent victories.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.