North Carolina
Loyola Marymount
Homestand Continues With LMU, Coastal Carolina
September 12, 2017 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL - After defeating LIU Brooklyn and LSU last weekend at the Carolina Classic, No. 24 North Carolina's homestand continues on Sept. 15-16 with visits from Loyola Marymount and Coastal Carolina. The Tar Heels (2-4) seek to close out their extremely difficult nonconfernence slate with a .500 record before opening ACC play on Friday, Sept. 22.
Friday, Sept. 15 | 6:30 p.m.
North Carolina (2-4) vs. Loyola Marymount (5-4)
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Stats: UNCLiveStats.com
Saturday, Sept. 16Â | 6:30 p.m.
North Carolina (2-4) vs. Coastal Carolina (3-4)
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Stats: UNCLiveStats.com
Against the Field
North Carolina is 2-1 all time against Loyola Marymount, having played the Lions at home, on the road and in neutral territory. The Tar Heels won the first-ever matchup, 3-1, in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 20, 1991. UNC defeated then-No. 20 LMU in five sets at home as part of the 2004 GlaxoSmithKline UNC Volleyball Classic. Two years later, the Heels went out to L.A., where they fell, 3-1, on Sept. 2, 2006. UNC and LMU have not faced since 2006.
UNC is 3-0 all time against Coastal Carolina, with all three matchups occurring at Carmichael Arena. The Heels swept the Chanticleers in their first-ever meeting in the 2000 season opener. UNC defeated Coastal, 3-1, on Sept. 10, 2005, then went more than a decade before meeting again. The Tar Heels most-recently took down CCU, 3-1, at home last season in the NCAA Tournament Second Round to advance to NCAA Regionals for the third time in program history.
Tar Heels Open Homestand with Sweep of Carolina Classic
After a tough start to the season, Carolina returned home in style, taking down LIU Brooklyn and LSU at Carmichael Arena for its first two wins of the year. The Tar Heels had three dominant attackers against the Blackbirds, as Taylor Fricano and Beth Nordhorn both hit over .500 with double-digit kills, while Taylor Leath had a match-high 16 kills. Fricano, Nordhorn and Katharine Esterley, in her first career start, all had at least five blocks as the Heels totaled 11.5 over the three-set win.
Leath stepped it up further on Sunday against LSU, unleashing 27 kills while hitting .404, making it a double-double with 12 digs. Her fourth career 20-kill match and 13th double-double, the 27 kills set a new 25-point rally-scoring record and was the most for a Tar Heel since 2005. It marked the fourth time a Tar Heel had more than 25 kills in a four-set match and ranked 11th overall in the rally-scoring era (since 2001). Her performance led to ACC Player of the Week honors, the fourth of her career.
Nordhorn and Holly Carlton both also turned in career performances against LSU on Sept. 10. Nordhorn put up a career-high 15 kills, hitting an impressive .545 (15-3-22), with five blocks and her first career service ace. Meanwhile, Carlton registered her first-ever double-double, posting 51 assists, 13 digs, five kills (.400), two blocks and an ace. Additionally, Mia Fradenburg posted her second 20-dig performance of the season, with 23.
Taylor Leath Named ACC Player of the Week
Taylor Leath was influential in Carolina's first two wins of the season, averaging 6.14 kills and 2.57 digs, hitting .360 in victories over LIU Brooklyn and LSU at the Carolina Classic. The outside hitter hit .404 with a career-high 27 kills in just four sets against LSU, the most kills by a Tar Heel since 2005 and a new 25-point rally-scoring record. The reigning ACC Player of the Year became the fourth Tar Heel to earn four or more career ACC Player of the Week awards and the first since 1999. Leath follows Sharon German '89 (7), Tori Seibert '99 (5) and Amy Piestrup '92 (4).
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.
Tar Heels in the AVCA Poll
After winning its 13th ACC title and advancing to the 2016 NCAA Regional Semifinals, North Carolina opened 2017 ranked No. 11 in the nation in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. It marked the fourth consecutive season and fifth time overall that the Tar Heels began the year ranked in the top 25.Â
After dropping the first four matches of the season, UNC fell to No. 16 and then just outside the rankings to 26th. A pair of home wins over LIU Brooklyn and LSU moved the Heels back into the top 25, coming in at No. 24 this week.
UNC's highest preseason rank came in 2015, when the Tar Heels opened the year at No. 7. Carolina ranked No. 20 in the 2003 and 2014 Preseason Polls and began last season at No. 19 before rapidly climbing into the top 10, peaking at a program-high No. 6.
Carolina will face six teams that appear in this week's AVCA Poll, having already faced three of this week's top five teams over the first two weekends of the season. The Heels opened the season by taking on No. 4 Minnesota and No. 7 Wisconsin, then faced No. 3 Florida in Puerto Rico the following weekend. All three remain undefeated, with Minnesota now holding down No. 1 for the second consecutive week. ACC foe Florida State comes in at No. 20 this week, while Miami and Notre Dame are both receiving votes. Duke and Pittsburgh have received votes this season, but do not currently appear in the poll.
