Heels sweep fourth straight on senior night
Emotions ran high in Carmichael Auditorium on Friday night, as the North Carolina volleyball team honored its three departing seniors. Prior to their match against conference rival Virginia, the team took a few minutes to recognize the careers and accomplishments of seniors Bekah Brinkley, Christie Clark, and Ashley Board. "It's definitely surreal," Board said after the match. "I remember being a freshman and watching the seniors go through it and it's kind of weird that it's already over." As a part of tradition, all three seniors were placed in the starting lineup. They also made appearances throughout the match as UNC continued its strong play at home of late with a three-game sweep of Virginia with scores of 30-25, 30- 12 and 30-19. If the home atmosphere and tribute to the seniors had impact on North Carolina's psyche it definitely showed early in the match as the Tar Heels jumped out to an early 9-3 lead in game one and never looked back. The team's strong start was anchored by sophomore Christine Vaughen who tallied six kills in the first game. "Coming off of three sweeps we had a lot of confidence. In the beginning things went really well and our confidence just kept building and building as the match went on," Vaughen said Virginia is the only team to have swept North Carolina in conference play this year, and Board wanted to change that around on senior night. "They're the only team we've lost to in three, so we were just trying to get a little bit of revenge," Board said. Brianna Eskola totaled 24 digs in the first two games - both comfortable UNC wins - and provided coach Joe Sagula with the inspiration for his intermission address. "To me, the unsung hero tonight was Brianna Eskola," Sagula said. "After the second game I told the team one thing: 'I love the way Brianna Eskola is playing defense tonight, we should all do the same thing.'" Avoiding a game-three letdown, the Tar Heels completed their sweep with a 30-19 victory. "I asked the team to play for the seniors tonight. Our seniors didn't ask for it, I asked them," Sagula said. "These seniors have given their heart to the program. They've played their role, whatever we've asked them to." All three seniors brought credence to Sagula's words Friday by making sizable contributions in their relatively limited roles. Board finished the match with five digs, while Brinkley and Clark amassed five kills apiece. Though she admits she'll miss her coaches, teammates and fans in Chapel Hill, Board took pride in the Tar Heels' performance Friday. "It's definitely bittersweet, but I'm so happy that everyone is playing their best right now at the end." Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.