UNC volleyball blocks Boston's attempts to score

In Friday’s match, Boston College was trying its best to dial up the perfect kill against the No. 9 North Carolina volleyball team.

But in UNC’s 3-0 victory, the Eagles could never get a hold of the Tar Heels — their calls kept getting blocked.

Continuing the momentum, the Tar Heels rounded out the weekend by defeating Georgia Tech 3-2 on Sunday.

As of Wednesday, The Tar Heels were third in the nation in blocks per set at 3.17, and the dominance continued against Boston College and Georgia Tech.

UNC had a total of 11.5 blocks versus the Eagles and 13 blocks against the Yellow Jackets.

“We knew that we were going to be a great blocking team,” coach Joe Sagula said. “We have an imposing, physical and athletic team that can get up and slow down an opponent.”

Junior middle blocker Paige Neuenfeldt, who stands at 6-foot-2, made the Eagles and Yellow Jackets aware of her presence at the net. She tallied four blocks against Boston College and three versus Georgia Tech.

“I think what makes our blocking so great is that we serve really tough,” Neuenfeldt said. “I know when I go right in Ece (Taner) serving behind me, all the teams are having trouble passing her so makes it a lot easier for me to get a really good step and which direction to go.”

Neuenfeldt is currently 13th in the nation in blocks per set at 1.45, and junior middle blocker Victoria McPherson ranks 10th with 1.46 blocks per set.

Senior outside hitter Lauren McAdoo agreed with Neuenfeldt that serving leads to blocking, but she added that a little preparation doesn’t hurt either.

“I think we watch a lot of video of other teams and the coaching staff is really good at showing the setter’s tendencies, and then training our middles and blockers to see the tendencies the setter has,” McAdoo said.

“We try to get a good read on what they do when they step forward or what they do when they step back.”

Sagula said the team cannot rely on getting blocks to win every match. But when the stat sheet becomes filled with blocks, he’s not one to complain.

“As I tell people all the time, it’s not something you always can count on, like, ‘Oh hey, we’re going to go out and block 10 balls tonight’ — we hope to, though,” Sagula said.

“But I want to count on the fact that we can serve tough and play good defense. If we get the blocking points, it’s a bonus.”

Much to Sagula's delight, the Tar Heels are continuing to cash in these bonuses for victories.

sports@dailytarheel.com