North Carolina
Auburn
No. 16 Volleyball Heads To ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico
August 30, 2017 | Volleyball
| ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico | |
| Match 3: | No. 16 North Carolina (0-2) vs. Auburn (3-1) Saturday, Sept. 2Â | 6 PM ET Watch on FloTV ($)Â | Live Stats Series:Â UNC leads, 5-1; Last: W, 3-0, on 8/26/11; Streak: Won 3 |
| Match 4: | No. 16 North Carolina vs. No. 3 Florida (2-0) Sunday, Sept. 3 | 8:30 PM ET Watch on FloTV ($)Â | Live Stats Series:Â UNC trails, 1-11; Last: L, 0-3, on 8/27/11; Streak: Lost 10 |
| Where: | Coliseo Rubén Rodriguez | Bayamón, P.R. |
| Match Notes: | North Carolina | Auburn | Florida |
| Statistics: | North Carolina | Auburn | Florida |
Heels Head South For ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico
After a tough opening weekend at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, No. 16 North Carolina has a second chance to fight for conference bragging rights, joining NC State in battling SEC foes Auburn and No. 3 Florida at the ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico. This weekend marks the first time that the Tar Heels will participate in official NCAA matches outside of the 50 U.S. states. It is just the second time Carolina has left the continental U.S. for a tournament, having participated in the Hawaii Rainbow Classic in Honolulu in September 1997. The No. 3-ranked Gators will pose an especially tough challenge, riding high after an opening weekend in which they knocked off No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Nebraska on their newly-renovated home court.
Against the Field
North Carolina is 5-1 all time against Auburn, although the pair has faced just once since the early '90s. UNC swept the Tigers in Gainesville on Aug. 26, 2011, in their most recent meeting, and went 2-1 in five-set matches from 1990-93. Carolina's first two meetings with Auburn were in the early years of the program, picking up 2-0 victories in 1976 and 1979 at Florida State's annual Invitational.
UNC has just one win all time against Florida in 12 meetings dating back to 1985, but has also faced the Gators just once in the past decade. Following the sweep of Auburn on 2011 opening day, Carolina fell 0-3 at No. 9 Florida on Aug. 27, 2011. UNC's sole victory over the Gators came back on Nov. 9, 1985, when the Tar Heels swept UF at home just one week before capturing the regular-season ACC title. Florida has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past six meetings, and this weekend's matchup is no exception, as home wins over No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Nebraska this past weekend launched the Gators all the way to No. 3 in this week's AVCA Poll.
Beating the Best
The Tar Heels will have another big challenge this weekend, taking on No. 3 Florida after having faced No. 4Â Minnesota and No. 7 Wisconsin on opening weekend at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. UNC set a new program record with three top-10 victories last season, marking the first time in school history that the Tar Heels had defeated more than one in a year. Carolina has beaten a team ranked in the top three in each of the past three seasons and looks to make it four straight on Sunday night. After taking a pair of top-10 losses last weekend, UNC is now 9-31 all time against top-10 programs, including 4-16 against teams in the top five.
UNC's Top-10 Victories
No. 4 Nebraska -Â H -Â 3-2 -Â Sept. 13, 1996
No. 10 Wisconsin -Â H -Â 3-1 -Â Aug. 31, 2002
No. 8 Minnesota -Â A -Â 3-2 -Â Sept. 20, 2008
No. 10 California -Â N -Â 3-2 -Â Dec. 1, 2011
No. 3 Florida State -Â H -Â 3-1 -Â Nov. 14, 2014
No. 3 Stanford -Â H -Â 3-0 -Â Sept. 10, 2015
No. 9 Penn State -Â A -Â 3-2 -Â Aug. 27, 2016
No. 2 Wisconsin -Â H -Â 3-2 -Â Sept. 9, 2016
No. 10 Florida State -Â A -Â 3-2 -Â Nov. 6, 2016
Heels Unanimous Favorite To Win ACC
North Carolina swept the ballots in the 2017 ACC Preseason Poll, as all 14 opposing head coaches picked the Tar Heels to repeat as conference champion in 2017. The Tar Heels, who have won two of the last three ACC titles, earn the top spot in the poll for the third consecutive season.Â
Carolina (196 points) holds a sizable lead over the next team, as Florida State (169) narrowly beat out Pittsburgh (168) for second place. Notre Dame (149) follows in fourth and NC State (140) rounds out the top five.
UNC is the first team to be picked as the unanimous favorite since 2013, when Florida State swept the coaches ballots after winning back-to-back conference titles.
Trio Of Tar Heels Earn Preseason Recognition
Returning All-ACC honorees Taylor Leath, Julia Scoles and Taylor Fricano were all named Preseason All-ACC, as elected by the conference coaches. The defending conference champions led all teams with three honorees on the 18-person list, while four teams had two honorees.Â
Leath, an AVCA All-American and the 2016 ACC Player of the Year, and Scoles, the ACC and AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year, were both named among PrepVolleyball.com's 12 candidates for Preseason Player of the Year, while Leath was also listed as one of FloVolleyball's 10 bids for National Player of the Year.
