University of North Carolina Athletics
From Fetzer To Finley: Rocking Carmichael
December 22, 2014 | Volleyball, Dave Lohse, Featured Writers
From Fetzer To Finley: Rocking Carmichael
By Dave Lohse, Associate Athletic Communications Director
Most people know by now that the 2014 volleyball season at Carolina was one for the history books. The facts and figures that document the standard of excellence achieved by coach Joe Sagula's squad will be covered here shortly.
What I would rather begin with in this ode to a truly remarkable team is the electricity this team brought to campus this fall. Volleyball became THE talked about sport around Chapel Hill as it made its longest NCAA Tournament run in history, reaching the Elite 8.
Now let's put that in perspective. For any fall sport at Carolina, gaining attention is a challenge. For starters, these non-revenue teams go head-to-head with football season. Secondly, with Late Night With Roy now in early October and the men's basketball season cranking up by the second week in November, just as fall teams are starting their NCAA Tournaments, its even a bigger challenge for Tar Heel teams to grab a piece of the fan base's attention.
Add to that fact Carolina's dynastic programs in women's soccer and field hockey and the improvement in the men's soccer program over the last 15 years and if you are Carolina volleyball, you understandably might feel like the odd man out.
Consider those days over. What the Tar Heels accomplished in 2014 brought the program immensely well deserved attention. If you weren't talking about Carolina volleyball at some point this fall, you were flat out missing the boat.
The team's résumé included in no particular order its highest AVCA coaches' poll ranking, its highest NCAA Tournament seed, its highest NCAA RPI, its second AVCA All-America, its farthest advancement in the NCAA Tournament and its biggest win (based on opponent's rank at the time). All those aforementioned feats are referenced by the phrase – in school history.
All those facts should elicit a well-deserved “WOW.” But the backstory of all this success is the way Carolina electrified Carmichael Arena (née Auditorium) in ways not seen since the days when James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan were the star attractions in the historic edifice.
I came to understand that personally on November 14, the day the Tar Heels took down third-ranked Florida State before 4,610 screaming fans who created a cacophony nothing short of ear splitting. The spark that energized the crowd that night was truly awe-inspiring, even for this scribe who has been watching college athletics for a living for 40 years. After finishing up my duties at the women's soccer match next door at Fetzer Field, I entered Carmichael through the back door, only to be immediately met by cheers bouncing off every wall of the building. “This sounds like something special,” I said to myself.
And it was. The Tar Heels won in four games, clinching a match that would put them in the driver's seat for an eventual outright ACC championship.
As I surveyed the crowd that night, I knew the ardor with which it cheered on the Heels was not accidental. The demographics of the crowd ran the gamut. What was particularly impressive was the level of support from the student body and from the players' fellow student-athletes.
On the season, the Tar Heels averaged 2,000 fans per game. The crowd against Florida State was over 4,600 on a night that volleyball went up against men's basketball, women's basketball and women's soccer games as entertainment options for Carolina fans.
By the end of the year, UNC had finished 16-0 at Carmichael, improving its home record to 91-10 since 2008. Two of the biggest wins came against Duke on the day before Thanksgiving and against Southern California in the NCAA second round. The victory over the Blue Devils before 5,517 fans cemented the opportunity for the Tar Heels to clinch the ACC crown two days later against Wake Forest as Carolina finished one game ahead of Florida State in the league standings. The win against the Trojans propelled the Heels to the regionals where they beat Oregon in the Round of 16 before falling to second-ranked Texas in the NCAA quarterfinals.
After his team lost to Carolina, veteran USC head coach Mick Haley said, “I did think from a crowd standpoint, it had to be a really fun match to watch because it seemed like the crowd was flying off its feet on every hit and every dig.”
There's a reason for that. The Tar Heels utilize an electrifying style of volleyball, focused on a quick offense and high-flying players to make the best use of their athletic ability. Carolina runs a 6-2 system, so there are three attackers in the front row at all times. The squad's game plan made the best use of speed, power and quickness and three Tar Heels – Taylor Treacy, Hayley McCorkle and Chaniel Nelson – all touch well over 10 feet when they contact the ball.
ACC Coach of the Year Joe Sagula and his staff deserve all the credit that has been heaped upon them this season. They are the architects behind building UNC into a dynamic program that hopefully sees the Tar Heels take up permanent residence among the nation's elite teams. If so, we'll look back at 2014 and know it was the breakthrough season when the Tar Heels got their due from the campus community and rocked the foundation of Carmichael to its very core. The din from that night against Florida State is still ringing in my ears.
Happy holidays to all Carolina fans!
