As soon as she steps onto the court, freshman Beth Nordhorn stands out. And it’s not just because she’s 6-foot-6.
The impact of her size on the game is immediate. In the No. 8 North Carolina volleyball team's 3-0 sweep against N.C. State (14-11, 3-10 ACC) on Thursday night, Nordhorn recorded two block assists moments after stepping onto the floor. A few minutes later, she skied into the air and wind-milled the ball into the center of the court for her second point.
“It’s awesome, my parents always stressed how great being tall was,” Nordhorn said.
Nordhorn’s night concluded after only a few minutes, as she resumed her place on the bench. The freshman has played sparse minutes the entire season due to the talent UNC (21-2, 12-1 ACC) has at middle blocker.
“(I) would have liked to play her in the third set, unfortunately we have two all-ACC type middle blockers (Paige Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson) in front of her,” Coach Joe Sagula said.
Having too much talent is a nice problem for a coach to have, but it can sometimes frustrate players. That hasn’t been the case with Nordhorn. Hailed as the No. 72 prospect in the country by PrepVolleyball.com, Nordhorn chose UNC only in part because of volleyball. Academics and the beauty of the town of Chapel Hill were other contributing factors, but in the end it’s volleyball that’s been the highlight of her year so far.
Playing limited minutes behind two talented players hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm. If anything, Nordhorn has grown even more from her relationship with McPherson and Neuenfeldt.
“It’s great to look up to them, they definitely help in practice,” Nordhurn said. “It’s nice to be able to turn to someone in drills and ask, ‘Am I doing this correctly?’”
