Younger players shine for UNC volleyball in Richmond Volleyball Club Spring Tournament

The North Carolina volleyball team continued its spring season on Saturday, as it traveled to Richmond, Va., to compete in the Richmond Volleyball Club Spring Tournament. 

The tournament field comprised teams from 13 different schools, but the Tar Heels faced only four of those teams. UNC played two-set matches against East Carolina, Virginia, James Madison and Virginia Tech.

North Carolina was dominant throughout the day, dropping just one set throughout the four matches.

East Carolina proved a competitive first opponent for UNC. Both sets were close affairs, but in the end the Pirates were defeated by scores of 25-19 and 25-23. 

The Tar Heels then split against ACC rival Virginia, winning the first set 25-17 but losing the second 25-22. 

The second set — UNC's first and only loss of the day — served as the motivation behind the sweeps of the Dukes and the Hokies.

The Tar Heels dominated James Madison in consecutive sets 25-15 and 25-17, while Virginia Tech was dispatched by scores of 25-18 and 25-20. 

Coach Joe Sagula was happy with the team's performance but was even more pleased with the opportunity for younger players to get in-game experience. 

“One of the couple of goals that we have is getting an opportunity for the young players to play and get to experience a competitive situation against other college teams,” he said. “It’s one thing to evaluate your team by seeing them scrimmage every day against themselves, but when you can play against somebody else, I think it’s a better measurement of their development.”

Each of the 14 players on the UNC’s spring roster played in the tournament, but Sagula was particularly impressed with the play of first-years Sydnye Fields, Madison Laufenberg, Mia Fradenburg and Casey Jacobs. 

“Those youngsters saw even more significant time and did a really magnificent job,” Sagula said. “(It’s good for them) to put on the uniform and be able to go out and travel a little bit and play against other teams (because) they’ll know what it's like to prepare themselves for the fall.”

Despite the fact that matches played in the spring season are often not as focused and intense as the ones played in the fall, Sagula said he still recognizes their value.

“In the spring we are working on the game of volleyball: serving, passing, whatever it might be. We just go play and see how we match up against the other teams,” he said. “It’s really a good test of how our youth compares to other team’s young players, and I gotta say I think our young players look good.”

@The_Belshe

sports@dailytarheel.com