Neuenfeldt shines in intersquad volleyball scrimmage

It was the second set of the North Carolina volleyball team’s annual Blue vs. White Scrimmage and sophomore middle blocker Paige Neuenfeldt had just missed a block.

The 6-foot-2 reigning ACC Freshman of the Year looked up, saw another member of her team laughing on the other side of the net, and returned to her position on the front line, preparing for the upcoming play.

She had one thought.

“Give me that ball back,” she said.

“Give it right back to me. I’d really like to fix that mistake, I want it back.”

The very next play, she sent an unreturnable kill over the net, making her loud, nonverbal statement echo through Fetzer Gymnasium. The teasing immediately ceased and Neuenfeldt’s side — the white team — took a 19-17 lead. Moments later, she tacked on three more kills, leading her team to the 25-20 victory.

It was a testament to her growth on the court and her offensive consistency, something coach Joe Sagula has praised since the day she arrived from Birmingham, Mich., last season.

“Paige Neuenfeldt was phenomenal,” he said. “Paige is just — when we were playing the first two games and I was coaching against her, I was like ‘What a pain — to play against her.’”

“I’m just so glad she’s on our team overall. Playing against her — gosh. The ball’s going down before you know it.”

Sagula said Neuenfeldt had improved her serve from last year.

“We’ve been working on this for two weeks — she turned to me in the middle of the match, she goes, ‘It’s working’,” he said.

The team played five individual 25-point games against each other and the assistant coaches, as Sagula experimented with different rotations and offenses. With just two true seniors, the young team relies heavily on those with experience — something graduate student Jovana Bjelica brings to the court daily.

Though she hasn’t played competitively since her days at Florida International a year and a half ago, she’s a dynamic attacker with the ability to score in big moments.

“I just like to win, and I notice things on the court. I like to communicate those things to my teammates,” the Belgrade, Serbia native said.

“I’m the oldest one and the most experienced one so hopefully that will help the team.”

With the season opener less than a week away, Sagula said his starting lineup is still uncertain — a testament to his team’s depth.

“The biggest thing, is we have a lot of options. If you asked me, ‘Who’s gonna start?’ I don’t know.

“I know we’re going to have starting groups, we’re going to have finishing groups, and we’re going to have different people that play all the time … It could change constantly, which is gonna be a good thing.”

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