Peppers is joined on the defensive line by Syracuse's Dwight Freeney, Wisconsin's Wendell Bryant and Washington's Larry Tripplett.
Peppers leads all defensive linemen in the country with three interceptions. He also ranks first on the team and is 95th nationally. The last time a defensive lineman led North Carolina in interceptions was Ken Sheets with two in 1975.
Peppers is three sacks shy of Greg Ellis' school record for career sacks with 32.5.
Volleyball to Host 1st, 2nd Round
The North Carolina volleyball team will begin play in the 2001 NCAA Volleyball Tournament as a first-time host. The ACC champion Tar Heels (23-8) will face South Carolina (20-5) Thurs. at 7:30 p.m. in Carmichael Auditorium. The UNC match will be preceded by No. 7 seed Pepperdine (21-3) facing Georgia Southern (22-11) at 5 p.m.
The winners of Thursday's matches will face off Friday night at 7:30 p.m., with the winner moving on to regional play Dec. 6-9 at four campus locations yet to be determined. The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final Dec. 13 and 15, hosted by San Diego State in San Diego, Calif.
"This is a great opportunity for us to host these matches," said UNC coach Joe Sagula. "The competition will be outstanding, and we look forward to hosting a tough South Carolina squad in the first round. Pepperdine and Georgia Southern are quality teams which give us an outstanding field, and it should provide exciting volleyball for the teams and the fans."
The Tar Heels, who were awarded an automatic bid to the tournament for winning the ACC title, are making their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The ACC will send three teams to the tournament with Georgia Tech and Duke joining the Tar Heels in the 64-team field.
Long Beach State, Nebraska, Stanford and Southern California are the top seeds.
