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University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Face Oregon in Regional Semifinals
December 11, 2014 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- The North Carolina Tar Heels will face-off against 10th-seeded Oregon in Minneapolis after UNC reached the Round of 16 for the second time in school history.
In order to reach the regional semifinals, Carolina had to defeat two solid opponents to boost its current winning streak to 19 matches. The Tar Heels swept Hampton 3-0 in the first round, and knocked-off USC 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Carolina's defense made a major statement in the opening rounds, as UNC averaged 4.00 blocks/set and 18.71 digs/set as a team in the two victories. The Tar Heels limited their first two NCAA opponents to just a .099 hitting percentage overall, giving up just 73 kills in two matches while forcing 46 hitting errors.
PREVIEWING THE OREGON DUCKS
The Oregon Ducks flew into the Round of 16 after sweeping Santa Clara 3-0 and downing LSU 3-1. Martenne Bettendorf led Oregon with 30 total kills in the two matches, good for a 4.29 kills/set average, while senior outside hitter Liz Brenner posted a double-double against LSU with 10 kills and 10 digs. The Ducks defense held their two opponents to a .136 hitting percentage on the weekend.
Oregon enters the second weekend of the NCAA tournament with a 23-9 overall record and an 11-9 record in Pac-12 play. The Ducks, seeded 10th overall and ranked No. 16 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, earned signature victories this season over fellow regional semifinalists UCLA and Ohio State, as well as USC and Hawai'i.
Bettendorf leads the lethal Oregon offense with 3.50 kills/set this season, while Brenner is second on the team both in kills (2.83 kills/set) and digs (3.38 digs/set). The Ducks run a 6-2 offense with setters Shellsy Ashen and Maggie Scott, who are guiding Oregon to a .258 hitting percentage and 14.56 kills/set this season.
The Tar Heels have faced the Ducks in two previous matches, with each team notching a victory for a 1-1 overall record. North Carolina (28-2) will face Oregon Friday at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET in the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and live stats will be provided through GameTracker.
PREVIEWING THE TEXAS LONGHORNS
The Texas Longhorns swept past Northwestern State and Arizona State to reach the Round of 16 for the ninth-straight year. Senior All-American Haley Eckerman posted double-digit kills in both matches and averaged 3.67 kills/set in the two wins. Freshman libero Cat McCoy led the Texas defense with 13 digs against Arizona State, helping limit the Sun Devil offense to a .131 hitting efficiency in the Longhorn sweep.
Eckerman is leading the Longhorns with 3.20 kills/set on a .266 hitting percentage, while adding 1.21 digs/set and 0.46 aces/set. Classmate Khat Bell dominates the net, posting 2.35 kills/set on a .300 hitting percentage and 0.95 blocks/set. The Longhorns have averaged a stellar 3.00 blocks/set this season and held opponents to a .148 hitting efficiency on the year.
The 2nd-seeded Longhorns started the year on a 15-match winning streak before falling in three tightly contested sets against Oklahoma. Texas has dropped only 17 sets all season, compiling a 25-2 overall record and a 15-1 record in the Big 12. The stellar conference season ended with Texas claiming the Big 12 title for the fourth year in a row.
PREVIEWING THE COLORADO STATE RAMS
The Colorado State Rams charged into the Regional Semifinals with 3-0 victory over Denver and then a 3-2 victory over Colorado. After sweeping Denver and winning the first two sets against Colorado, the Rams dropped the next two sets and found themselves tied 2-2 with a deciding 5th set to make the Round of 16. Alexandra Polleto had two kills and a key late block take the fifth set, 16-14, and send CSU to the next round vs. Texas.
Polleto leads the team with a .402 hitting percentage on the season, knocking down 1.79 kills/set and turning back 1.17 blocks/set. Marlee Reynolds is the Ram's most prolific offensive weapon, posting 3.15 kills/set to lead the team. Reynolds posted a team-high 18 kills in the five-set win against Colorado to advance to the regional semifinal.
Colorado State, seeded 15th, has won six-straight Mountain West titles and is making the program's 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. The Rams have won 12 of the 16 Mountain West regular season titles in conference history. CSU is also ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the 75th time the Rams have been ranked in the Top 10 of the Coaches Poll.
Colorado State will face Texas for the ninth time in each program's history, with the Longhorns holding the 7-1 edge so far. The Rams will play the Longhorns this Friday at 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET in the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and live stats will be provided through GameTracker.
The winner of the UNC vs. Oregon match will advance to play the winner of the Texas vs. CSU match on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. ET.
