It's Thursday, the first day of Fall Break. But unlike many students who get to kick back and relax for a few days, the members of the team are on a business trip -- a three-day, two-game trek to College Park, Md., and Charlottesville, Va.
9:46 a.m. -- The day officially begins with practice at Carmichael Auditorium, one of the last tuneups for the upcoming matches. Five hours later, the team is back at Carmichael to get on the bus.
2:40 p.m. -- The team bus backs out of the Carmichael parking lot and heads to The Loop for lunch. An hour later the team is back on the bus and heading on its way up to College Park.
Sagula pops "Meet the Parents" into the VCR, but the morning practice has taken its toll, and most of the team has fallen asleep by the time the previews are done.
Most players are sleeping, listening to music, studying or chatting softly among one another or on their cell phones. There is no rowdy behavior or crazy antics.
"We're probably more reserved on the bus," says assistant coach Jim Lodes. "I think as a group we're pretty focused on academics."
But some people are better about getting work done on the bus than others.
"I do my homework on the way -- there's no distractions on the bus except for the movies, which usually suck," jokes sophomore Katie Wright. "Compared to my room, I think the bus is much better to get work done."
Others find the distractions too appealing or complain about motion sickness when they try to read, so many try to get work done in the hotel or before the trip.
Although it seems like all the team members are doing their own things for most of the ride, road trips are the time where the players bond together as a team.
"You see everyone in the locker room, on the court -- everything very formal," says Strauss. "Whereas on the road there's a lot of down time. ... Volleyball usually isn't the topic of conversation."
The team is subdued for most of the trip, but the players start getting a little antsy as the bus approaches the Washington, D.C., area
At the back of the bus, Underwood, Strauss, senior Eve Rackham and junior Aletha Green start getting fidgety, cracking jokes, making fun of each other and chiming in as Green tries to be interviewed.
"I think you have a bed, you're sleeping. I mean, you're getting food, you're eating," says Green about the relative ease with which she adjusts to life on the road.
But Underwood can't resist adding her own comments. "Aletha just feels comfortable with anything that's free."
8:48 p.m. -- The team bus finally arrives at the Holiday Inn near Maryland's campus. The coaches order pizza, and the players swoop in to pick up a pie and return to their rooms.
Many of the girls actually enjoy being able to sleep in the bigger beds, and as Strauss points out, after a five-hour bus trip it almost doesn't matter where they sleep. "You're usually pretty exhausted by the end of the day anyway, and you're just ready to pass out," she says. "A bed's a bed at that point."
10:17 a.m. -- After breakfast Friday, the team is back on the bus, heading to Ritchie Coliseum to practice and scout out the gym.
At the back of the bus, Strauss mentions to Underwood and Rackham that Maria DiLivo, a former club teammate and current member of the Maryland team, called her the night before to talk trash and tell Strauss to watch out because the Terrapins have been practicing hard and are ready to play the game of their lives.
"This is our reality," says Underwood. "Everybody wants to kill us; we know this."
After practice and checking out of the hotel, the team goes to a local mall to kill time until the team dinner. If they weren't all wearing their warmups, they would appear to be just a typical group of girls spending an afternoon shopping.
From the mall, the team goes to eat at the Olive Garden. Laughter fills the room as jokes -- and packs of sugar -- fly.
The team is loose and pokes fun at the waitress, who, either because she has to serve a room full of hungry athletes or is just neurotic, is wigging out.
There is rarely a point during the meal where at least one table isn't cracking up.
7:02 p.m. -- The starting lineups are announced over the loud speaker, and the intent looks on all of UNC's players faces make it evident the team is focused. The Tar Heels play one of their best matches in weeks as they defeat Maryland 3-1. It's hard to believe that these were the same girls who were launching packs of sugar and telling knock-knock jokes two hours ago.
"I think that's the dynamic of our team," says Underwood. "(We) like to have fun; we joke around with each other, and we're at our best when we are doing that."
On the bus after the game, all the girls are excited by the convincing victory.
About 20 minutes later, the excitement subsides. Underwood says the team doesn't harp on victories for long to prevent the team from losing focus.
"If you hang on to wins, you're going to end up losing a couple games before you get yourself back into a groove."
11:19 a.m. -- The team bus arrives at the UNC-Virginia football game Saturday refreshed and excited. The team was allowed to sleep in late after the win and now has the rare opportunity to cheer on the football team at an away game.
As the team gets to the stadium, a cannon is shot off. Given all that is happening in the area, the blast shakes up some of the girls.
Once the game starts, though, they enjoy being loud and rowdy, and constant cell phone calls telling them that they're on TV only urge them on.
5:10 p.m. -- Sagula addresses the team in the locker room before the match. They are loose -- probably too loose, as they squabble about rewards they might lose if they drop tonight's match.
"Why don't we just win?" says Laura Greene, and the room immediately falls silent. As a captain, Greene doesn't speak up often, but when she does, the team listens.
"We were sitting in the locker room talking about useless information that was taking away from our focus on the game," she explained after the game. "We were maybe a little too relaxed and not really thinking about how we needed to come out."
7:30 p.m. -- "Hark the sound of Tar Heel voices ..." The team huddles in the corner to sing the alma mater following its sweep of the Cavaliers.
"It's always fun to sing your school song on the opponents' court," says freshman Dani Nyenhuis.
But the team speeds through the rendition and, unlike last night, immediately breaks for the locker room. They're ready to get back to Chapel Hill.
"I think we all wanted to get home, it's a long bus ride," says freshman McKenzie Byrd.
8:08 p.m. -- The team gets on the bus, but Sagula isn't quite ready to call an end to the trip. Instead, they go to Boston Market for a postgame dinner, after which Sagula takes them to Ben & Jerry's for a personally funded treat for an improbable 20-1 start to the season.
9:12 p.m. -- The bus finally sets off for Chapel Hill. After two wins -- and ice cream, of course -- the team is satisfied but anxious to leave. As the drive wears on, some of the girls get road sick, and all of them are restless to be home.
12:35 a.m. -- Two days, 650 miles, and two wins later, the Tar Heels are back in Chapel Hill.
"It feels great," says Green. "(The trip) was kind of long, and everyone was kind of tired and sick of being on the bus, so it's good that we could focus and concentrate and come back 2-0."
The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.
