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University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 22 Tar Heels Close Regular Season At Rival Duke
November 27, 2015 | Volleyball
Durham, N.C. - Carolina enters the final match of the regular season riding a 12-match winning streak, which has helped the Tar Heels return to the top 25 in the AVCA Poll, coming in at No. 22 this week. The Tar Heels close the year across town at rival Duke on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m.
• The Tar Heels are in second place in the ACC standings at 17-2 on the season. No. 15 Louisville (18-2) clinched at least a share of the ACC title on Wednesday, but fell to Syracuse, 3-0, on Friday to open the door for Carolina. With a win over Duke, UNC would claim its second consecutive ACC title, sharing the Co-Championship with Louisville and earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to the head-to-head victory earlier this season.
• UNC goes for the series sweep of the Blue Devils, having swept Duke on national television at home on Oct. 2.
At a Glance
• Records: No. 22 North Carolina (20-8, 17-2 ACC), Duke (16-13, 11-8 ACC).
• Rankings: North Carolina moved up to No. 22 in the AVCA Poll this week and to #20 in the RPI. Duke is #85 in the RPI.
• Coverage: Saturday's match will be streamed live on ESPN3. Live stats can be found here.
Series Notes
• In the most highly-contested series among all of Carolina's opponents, UNC holds a narrow margin over Duke, leading 56-52 in 108 meetings between the two cross-town rivals.
• Carolina has won the last three meetings against the Blue Devils, including a 3-0 sweep on national television earlier this season on Oct. 12.
• Duke holds a slight edge on the series in Durham, leading 26-22 on its home court.
Tar Heels Riding 12-Match Winning Streak
• Carolina has gone on a tear in ACC play, winning the last 12 straight matches dating back an Oct. 18 sweep of Miami.
• During that stretch, UNC is averaging 14.28 kills, 17.65 digs and 3.03 blocks per set, hitting .264.
• The winning streak has lifted Carolina to No. 22 in AVCA Poll and #20 in the RPI as well as to second place in the ACC standings at 17-2.
Vote For Paige for the Senior CLASS Award
• Middle hitter Paige Neuenfeldt was selected as one of 10 national finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. The honor is given to one senior Division I student-athlete in each participating sport who excels both on and off the court. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award focuses on the total student-athlete, highlighting those who best exemplify excellence in the “four Cs”: community, classroom, character and competition.
• The selection process is now open to a national fan vote to determine the final award winner. Fans can vote once per day throughout the voting process, which concludes on Dec. 7. VOTE NOW: SeniorCLASSAward.com/vote
• Director of Operations Chaniel Nelson was named a top-10 finalist for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award, while libero Kaylie Gibson was a top-10 finalist in 2011. Both Tar Heels made the First Team (top-5), but a UNC player has yet to win the award since its inception in 2010.
Block Party
• North Carolina has been a force to be reckoned with at the net, ranking third in the nation and tops in the ACC by averaging 3.14 blocks per set. Paige Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson are ranked first and fourth in the ACC with 1.52 and 1.32 blocks per set, respectively, and both are among the nation's top 30.
• Carolina has put up at least seven blocks in all-but-two match this season, posting 19 double-digit performances, including three matches with 15 or more.
• UNC has faced some tough net defense as well, as Syracuse (4), Florida State (10), UNCW (11), Stanford (14), BYU (15), Minnesota (16), and Wisconsin (18) all rank among the nation's top 20.
Carolina Hits Stride in ACC Play
• After struggling to find their rhythm during an extremely challenging nonconference slate, the Tar Heels have put it all together during ACC play, sitting in second place at 17-2, including winning the last 12 straight.
• Carolina entered the final week of play sitting in the top half of the conference in nearly every statistical category during ACC play, leading the league in opponent hitting percentage (.165), ranking second in blocks (3.12/s), third in hitting percentage (.267) and fourth in kills (14.27/s), assists (13.11/s) and digs (16.70/s).
• The Tar Heel upperclassmen have been shouldering the load for Carolina, led by senior middle hitters Victoria McPherson and Paige Neuenfeldt, who rank in the top 10 in both blocks and hitting percentage, with Neuenfeldt leading the ACC in blocks per set in all games and in ACC play.
• With seven 20-dig performances including 35 in a four-set win over Notre Dame, libero Sheila Doyle ranks third in the ACC with an average of 4.84 digs per set.
Tar Heels Take On One of Nation's Toughest Schedules
• According to the NCAA's Strength of Schedule rankings, Carolina has played the 13th-most-difficult schedule in the nation this season, including the fourth-hardest nonconference slate in the country.
• The Tar Heels have a total of seven opponents ranked in this week's top 25, including No. 1 USC, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 6 Stanford and No. 10 Wisconsin, while also facing, No. 11 BYU, No. 15 Louisville and No. 20 Florida State.
• Nonconference opponent Michigan dropped out of the rankings recently, but the Wolverines continue to receive votes.
• The Tar Heels have three wins over ranked opponents this season, having swept then-No. 3 Stanford and then-No. 20 Michigan in nonconference play and knocking off then-No. 23 Louisville on Oct. 30.
• 2015 marks the fourth season in UNC history that the Tar Heels have won at least three matches against ranked opponents and the second straight. It is also just the fourth time that UNC has played at least seven matches against teams in the AVCA Poll, with Carolina setting its records with six wins in nine matches (.667) against top-25 teams last season.
• USC, ranked No. 22 at the time of the match, has spent six weeks at No. 1 and was the final team in the nation to lose its first match after winning its first 22 straight. UNC took the second set from USC on opening night, after which the Trojans went on to win the next 29 straight.
• Of Carolina's eight losses, five were to teams that are currently in the top 25 in the RPI, including three of the top four teams. The Tar Heels' worst loss came to #58 Michigan State.
Tar Heels Back Up to No. 22
• Coming off its most successful season in program history, the North Carolina volleyball team was ranked No. 7 in the 2015 AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason Poll. The ranking matched the highest in school history and marks the first time the Tar Heels have started a season in the top 10 nationally.
• The Tar Heels fell to No. 18 after opening weekend losses to ranked USC and BYU squads, then dropped just outside the top 25 the following week. Despite the slow start to 2015, Carolina has continued to receive votes in every AVCA Poll this season.
• After putting together a seven-match winning streak, North Carolina returned to the AVCA Poll on Nov. 9, debuting at No. 25, then improved to No. 22 in the past two polls.
