Despite a successful ACC season, the Tar Heels (24-9) lost on Friday night to a California team for the third time this season. No. 8 Pepperdine's 3-0 win against UNC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament ended a memorable season for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina played a difficult non-conference schedule that included matches against top programs like UC-Santa Barbara and Santa Clara. The Tar Heels lost both matches, but they built upon the experience of playing tough competition.
"I think you have to play a lot of matches like that and get that experience to know what to do at that level," said UNC coach Joe Sagula. "What we want to do is keep playing teams of that caliber to help ourselves get used to these types of battles."
Though it still has work to do to catch up with the traditional volleyball powers, North Carolina is building a respectable program in its own right.
Graduating seniors Krista Buchholz and Melissa Higgins played in four NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the second round in three of those four seasons and winning three ACC titles. Their success reflects the program's progress.
"Melissa and I were lucky enough to be on the winningest teams in Carolina history," said a teary-eyed Buchholz after losing to Pepperdine. "We've really watched this program come around, in the ACC especially. Now we're on the verge of breaking into the top teams in the nation, and I don't see anything but this program going
