Nearing the halfway point of the season the North Carolina volleyball team finds itself in the middle of the ACC standings with a conference record of 5-4.
Making good on its goal of winning the conference now seems a daunting task.
Junior middle hitter Christine Vaughen and senior libero Brianna Eskola sat in the Smith Center media room Wednesday evening" waiting for practice.
""We need to win out"" don't we?"" Vaughen said.
Eskola nodded in agreement. Three years ago" her freshman season" the Tar Heels took the conference with an 18-4 record.
""It's not going to be easy. It's a challenge"" coach Joe Sagula said. But can we win out? Yes. Is it going to be tough? Absolutely.""
Sagula said that in order to finish near the top of the conference and have a shot at an NCAA tournament bid" his team would have to win nine or 10 of its remaining 11 matches.
That's not out of the question because seven of those matches will be at home where the Tar Heels are 6-1 this season. Last year they won their final six home matches without so much as dropping a set.
Two of the four road matches remaining will be against Maryland and Boston College which are 1-8 and 0-9 respectively in conference play. North Carolina already defeated both in straight sets this season.
But first UNC must overcome its toughest weekend yet hosting Clemson and Georgia Tech with records of 7-2 and 6-3" respectively.
The Tar Heels are coming off a successful trip to Florida where they defeated Florida State in their only televised game of the season.
""It was a real big positive in terms of getting some great recognition for the program because it was seen on many televisions throughout the country on the Sunshine Network"" Sagula said.
But North Carolina couldn't top Miami, now tied for first in the ACC.
The Tar Heels took the first set, but the Hurricanes took the next three and the match.
We had our moments." Sagula said. We came out playing like we did the night before with great effort great tenacity. Brianna Eskola in particular I thought" really set the tone.""
But UNC faltered when Miami went on long scoring runs.
""We have a tendency to get stuck in one rotation" in serve-receive and the team will get a run" Vaughen said. That's one thing that we need to work on.""
North Carolina won the first set but lost the second in both matches on the road trip.
""That's what we're trying to figure out — how to work our way through the middle routine" middle slump or whatever happens" Sagula said.
For now, the Tar Heels' focus turns to the Tigers, who defeated UNC in both meetings last year. North Carolina will take the floor against the reigning ACC champions at 5 p.m. today, immediately before Late Night with Roy Williams.
Eskola described Clemson as a good defensive team, explaining that it will be important to score points early, before rallies develop.
From Vaughen's perspective at the middle of the net, North Carolina will have its hands full with Clemson middle hitter Danielle Hepburn, who broke the school record for career blocks Sunday.
Vaughen said having a consistent middle attack means the Tigers won't need to rely on their outsides to put the ball on the floor today. But Sagula said defending the outsides will be a key to the game.
They have a really good middle who's going to get kills — Hepburn" Sagula said. And if she gets a lot of kills it doesn't mean that we can't win. But both outside hitters" we have to slow them down.""
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ACC play gets tough for Tar Heels
Christine Vaughen (16) and the Tar Heels have a tough road of ACC play ahead if they want to take the conference title this season.
