Hanson-Tuntland returns to volleyball court after team policy infraction

Senior middle blocker Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland returned to action against Boston College on Friday after sitting out Thursday because of a team policy infraction.

After missing a match, Hanson-Tuntland did her best to make up for it, tying a career high with 17 kills. With just three errors on 28 attacks, she had a .500 hitting percentage.

Sagula said that Hanson-Tuntland had “some things to take care of” and that it was an internal policy that kept her off the court against Maryland the previous night. She said she could not comment on why she didn’t play.

Hanson-Tuntland said standing on the sidelines Thursday gave her motivation to be a presence on the court Friday.

“I had to really mentally prepare myself to do great today, so I was already in mental focus to be just prepared for tonight and just ball out,” Hanson-Tuntland said.

The play of Hanson-Tuntland and fellow senior middle blocker Heather Brooks helped stave off an upset bid by the Eagles.

Late in the game, freshman setter Cora Harms fed the two veterans the ball when the Tar Heels needed points.

“Ingrid was on fire, just a major horse out there,” coach Joe Sagula said.

Brooks said it felt weird having Hanson-Tuntland on the bench.

“She brings a lot of energy to the court and a lot of enthusiasm, and I think without her on the court, it was a little different,” Brooks said.

Hanson-Tutland’s 17 kills were topped only by Brooks’ 18, a new career high for her.

The two middles have remarkably similar statistics this season. Brooks has logged 137 kills and 41 blocks while Hanson-Tuntland has put up 134 kills and 39 blocks.

Both players were selected to the preseason All-ACC Team. Hanson-Tuntland said having another top middle blocker on the team pushes her to be better.

“I don’t know if she knows this, but I secretly — I do try to compete with her,” Hanson-Tuntland said. “You always want to be the better middle. You always want to have the most kills, the most blocks.”

Brooks said she didn’t feel the same competition but appreciated having an experienced teammate in Hanson-Tuntland.

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked at it like that,” Brooks said. “We tend to help each other in timeouts if we see something open.”



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