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University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Set to Host NCAA Opening Rounds
December 2, 2015 | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina's difficult schedule paid off, as the Tar Heels were selected as one of 16 host institutions for the 2015 NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds.
• UNC just missed being chosen as a top-16 national seed, as #16-seed Creighton, who did not put in a bid to host, will travel to Carmichael Arena.
• Coastal Carolina and UNCW round out the weekend field, with Coastal Carolina squaring off with Creighton at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by a rematch of UNC vs. UNCW.
| Participating Teams | |||
| Coastal Carolina | #16 Creighton | UNCW | North Carolina |
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| Roster | Schedule Statistics | Team Site Media Guide |
Roster | Schedule Statistics | Team Site Media Guide | Notes |
Roster | Schedule Statistics | Team Site Media Guide | Notes |
Roster | Schedule Statistics | Team Site Media Guide | Notes |
| Tournament Schedule | |||
| Friday, Dec. 4 - First Round | |||
| Match 1 - 4:30 p.m. | Coastal Carolina vs. #16 Creighton | Video | Live Stats | |
| Match 2 - 6:30 p.m. | UNCW vs. North Carolina | Video | Live Stats | |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 - Second Round | |||
| Match 3 - 5 p.m. | Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner | Video | Live Stats | |
Tar Heels in the Tournament
• The Tar Heels will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history, and the sixth straight.
• Carolina will serve as a host for the fifth time and for the second consecutive year. UNC also hosted the opening rounds in 2001, 2002 and 2005.
• Placed in the San Diego Region, the Tar Heels seek to punch their ticket to Regionals for the third time in program history, following an historic run to the Elite Eight in 2014. UNC made its first appearance in an NCAA Regional in 2002, facing off with Hawaii in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• The Tar Heels are 12-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 12-12 under head coach Joe Sagula. Carolina is 5-2 at home, all coming during Sagula's tenure, with both Regional appearances coming after hosting the First and Second Rounds.
Scouting the Seahawks
• UNCW punched its ticket to its first-ever NCAA Tournament on Nov. 22 after a dominating sweep of the College of Charleston led the Seahawks to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Championship.
• The Seahawks finished in a four-way tie for first in the CAA regular-season standings at 12-4, and posted a 24-7 overall record, which included an upset of UNC in Carmichael Arena on Sept. 11.
• The five-set victory in Chapel Hill was UNCW's first over the Tar Heels, who are 4-1 all-time against Wilmington.
• Like Carolina, UNCW has a dominant blocking unit, ranking 10th in the nation and tops in its conference with 2.95 blocks per set. The net defense helps hold its opponents to the fourth-lowest hitting percentage in the NCAA (.140).
• UNCW placed a program-record five Seahawks on the All-CAA teams, including First-Team selections for middle hitter Meredith Peacock and outside hitter Nicole Lott.
Catching Up with Creighton
• The Bluejays claimed the No. 16 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament after winning 20 of their final 21 matches and claiming the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles.
• Creighton advances to the postseason for the fifth time in program history, all of which have come in the past six seasons.
• Carolina and Creighton have met just twice in their history, with the Tar Heels winning both matches. The last time the pair squared off was on Sept. 12, 2003, win UNC won, 3-1.
• A strong offensive team, Creighton leads the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.249), kills per set (13.98) and assists per set (13.18), ranking second in blocks (2.39) and digs (16.47).
• A trio of Bluejays earned First-Team All-BIG EAST honors, in Maggie Baumert, Lauren Smith and Jaali Winters.
Checking In with the Chanticleers
• Coastal Carolina returns to Carmichael Arena for the NCAA Opening Rounds for the second straight season, having run through the Big South to earn its fifth NCAA bid in program history.
• The Chanticleers went undefeated in the Big South and bring a school-record 18-match winning streak into the postseason.
• While Coastal Carolina played in Chapel Hill last December, the Tar Heels have not faced the Chanticleers since 2005. UNC topped CCU, 3-1, on Sept. 10 in just the second-ever matchup between the two Carolinian foes.
• The Chanticleers led the Big South in nearly every category, hitting .289 while holding opponents to just .152 (11th in the nation), as well as averaging a conference-high 12.56 assists and 13.65 kills. Eszter Nagy was influential Coastal's efficient attacking, ranking sixth in the nation with a .433 season clip.
• Sophomore Leah Hardeman was named Big South Player of the Year, while Jozsef Forman garnered Big South Coach of the Year accolades.
Three Tar Heels Selected First-Team All-ACC
• Tar Heel attackers Paige Neuenfeldt, Victoria McPherson and Taylor Treacy were all named to the All-ACC First Team after putting together successful campaign during the regular season.
• Neuenfeldt has received ACC postseason honors all four years, being named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2012, to the All-ACC Second Team as a sophomore and to the First Team last fall.
• McPherson also became a three-time All-ACC honoree, having garnered Second Team nods in each of the past two seasons.
• Treacy collected her first-ever postseason award after putting together a breakout season from the right side, which included hitting .289 with 1.12 blocks per set during the 19 ACC matches prior to the award's announcement.
Tar Heels Run Through ACC With 12-Match Winning Streak
• Carolina went on a tear down the stretch, winning 12 straight matches before falling to Duke in the regular-season finale.
• During the streak, UNC averaged 14.28 kills, 17.65 digs and 3.03 blocks per set, hitting .264.
• The winning streak lifted Carolina to No. 22 in AVCA Poll and #20 in the RPI as well as to second place in the ACC standings, helping the Tar Heels post their sixth consecutive 20-win season.
Block Party
• North Carolina has been a force to be reckoned with at the net, ranking fourth in the nation by averaging 3.07 blocks per set. Paige Neuenfeldt and Victoria McPherson are ranked first and fourth in the ACC with 1.50 and 1.28 blocks per set, respectively, with Neuenfeldt currently holding the all-time record for both single-season and career blocks per set.
• Carolina has put up at least seven blocks in all-but-three 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 (3), Florida State (6), UNCW (10), BYU (14), Minnesota (16), and Stanford (18) all rank among the nation's top 20.
Neuenfeldt Selected as Senior CLASS Award Finalist
• 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.
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. 2 USC, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 6 Stanford and No. 10 Wisconsin, while also having faced, No. 11 BYU, No. 18 Louisville and No. 19 Florida State.
• Nonconference opponent Michigan dropped out of the rankings midway through the year, but the Wolverines continue to receive votes.
• Potential Second Round opponent Creighton just missed the top 25 this week and is #15 in the RPI.
• Eight of Carolina's nine nonconference opponents received bids to the 2015 NCAA Tournament, with the Tar Heels facing #1-seed USC, #2-seed Minnesota, #6-seed Wisconsin, #8-seed Stanford, #13-seed BYU and #15-seed Louisville during the regular season, as well as first-round opponent UNCW, Michigan, Michigan State, Florida State and Miami.
• 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 nine losses, five were to teams that are currently in the top 25 in the RPI, including three of the top five teams. The Tar Heels' worst loss came to #73 Duke in the final match of the regular season.
Carolina Hits Stride in ACC Play
• After struggling to find their rhythm during an extremely challenging nonconference slate, the Tar Heels put it all together during ACC play, finishing in second place at 17-3, including a streak of 12-straight victories.
• Carolina sits in the top half of the conference in nearly every statistical category during ACC play, ranking third in hitting percentage (.259), opponent hitting percentage (.172), digs (16.63) and blocks (3.06) and fourth in kills (14.14) and assists (13.04).
• The Tar Heel upperclassmen shouldered 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 eight 20-dig performances including 35 in a four-set win over Notre Dame, libero Sheila Doyle finished fourth in the ACC with an average of 4.80 digs per set.
Tar Heels Ranked No. 23 in this Week's AVCA Poll
• 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 next two polls. After a setback at Duke in the regular-season finale, Carolina enters the postseason ranked No. 23 in the nation.
