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University of North Carolina Athletics
Volleyball Embraces the Grind for Postseason Run
December 3, 2014 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL—The 2014 Carolina volleyball team, ACC Champions and the No. 7 seed in the upcoming NCAA Division I Volleyball tournament, has built its season on one simple phrase: embrace the grind.
“Coach Sagula has always been very adamant about not complaining about the grind of the season, and I think that we have really embraced that,” Abigail Curry said.
“Without having that complaining there we have all stayed pretty energized throughout the season, so we're all pretty excited going into the tournament instead of tired.”
In asking his team to embrace the grind, Sagula and his staff have worked hard to manage the team during a fierce preseason slate and ACC schedule. The Tar Heels faced the 28th toughest schedule in the nation that included eight NCAA tournament teams and 11 teams in the top 60 of the NCAA RPI.
Carolina also faced three different split weekends in the ACC, situations where the team would have one game at home and one game on the road in the same weekend. This led to difficult travel situations, like back in September when the team had to fly down to Tallahassee to play Florida State on a Friday before returning back to Chapel Hill to face Syracuse on Sunday afternoon.
However, the travel and demanding scheduling has paid off in terms of preparation and development for UNC. Junior middle blocker Victoria McPherson attributes the difficult schedule for building character and giving the team a goal.
“I think that we have loved the grind and as cliché as it sounds to say, it has helped us in a way to have such a difficult traveling and playing schedule. It has given us something to look forward to with the light at the end of the tunnel and what we are really working for in the tournament,” said McPherson.
“As the season was going on, win after win and even after the two losses that we did have, there was never a point where people were down on each other or themselves,” she said.
Part of the Tar Heels emphasis on season-long relevancy has been a shift in focus on early season victories. North Carolina got off to a strong start this year, much like in 2013, but has been able to sustain the momentum through conference play and now into the postseason. Those early preseason wins, over teams like Michigan State and Kentucky, were stepping-stones to greater heights Carolina wanted to achieve this season.
“In preseason I could tell by how we were meshing so early that this was going to be a good season. But our success this year, it has come down to how we practice and our mindset to keep powering us forward,” McPherson said.
“I think we can do whatever we want to do, it is just up to us at this point. Relevancy and legacy have been our big two goals all season long and now we are at the point where we can start cementing those two things,” she concluded.
Now this team faces a daunting NCAA tournament bracket, with perennial Final Four contenders Texas and Southern California as well as west coast powers Oregon and Colorado State all in UNC's section of the bracket.
However, the Carolina volleyball team is prepared to move forward and take each tournament game one step at a time. The NCAA Tournament is a new grind to embrace for Carolina volleyball this season, and the team believes it is ready to take on the challenge and continue this year's success.
“The main thing that has helped us through this season and prepared us for the tournament is that we all truly love each other. There are successful teams that bicker and banter and fight, but we are all competitive in a playful way and in the end, we really care about each other and play for one another and that is why we are so successful,” Curry noted.
“We have these expectations as a team but we all support each other no matter what. I think that everyone believes that we can do it and we look forward to showing what UNC is all about each match moving forward.”
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The Tar Heels will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this Friday against Hampton at 6:30 p.m. in Carmichael Arena. You can follow the Tar Heels live on GoHeels.com and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook throughout the NCAA Tournament.
by CJ Hunter, North Carolina Athletic Communications
