University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Conclude Record-Breaking Season
December 20, 2016 | Volleyball
2016 in Review
North Carolina enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in program history in 2016, achieving its highest AVCA and RPI rankings in program history, winning its 13th ACC title, advancing to NCAA Regionals for the third time ever, while taking down a program-record three top-10 teams during the season.
The Tar Heels went an unprecedented 19-1 in ACC play, while defeating No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 9 Penn State and No. 10 Florida State. Sophomore outside hitting Taylor Leath became Carolina's fourth AVCA All-American after taking home ACC Player of the Year honors, while freshman Julia Scoles collected ACC and AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year nods. Following his seventh conference title, head coach Joe Sagula won ACC and AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the Year.
The Tar Heels were ranked as high as No. 6 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and #5 in the RPI during the season, both school records. UNC took home a school-record 11 ACC weekly awards to go with three National Player of the Week awards.
Carolina led a balanced attack throughout the season, with seven players tallying 100 kills, and had three players with at least 250 kills for the first time since 2012. The Tar Heels posted the highest team hitting percentage since 1983 (.273), tops in the ACC and 14th in the nation. Junior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn led the ACC with a .446 overall hitting percentage, the only ACC player to hit above .400 for the year.
UNC's defense was on point once again, as the Tar Heels ranked in the top six in the nation in blocks for the third straight season. Carolina held its opponents to an ACC-low .165 hitting, good for 20th in the NCAA. Despite averaging 2.99 blocks per set, libero Sheila Doyle posted a total of 584 digs and finished her career with the fourth-highest career average at 3.54 digs per set.
Tar Heels in the Tournament
Carolina earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 for the 18th time in program history and 14th under head coach Joe Sagula. UNC played in the postseason for the seventh straight season and opened at home for the third year in a row.
Carolina earned a national seed for the third time, matching the #7-seed from 2014 after earning the #11-seed in 2002. With a 3-1 victory over Coastal Carolina on Dec. 3, the Tar Heels punched their ticket to NCAA Regionals for the third time ever. UNC has advanced to the second weekend of play all three times that it has received a national seed.
The Tar Heels are 15-18 all time in the NCAA Tournament. UNC has advanced to the second round 11 times and to NCAA Regionals three times. UNC's best run came two seasons ago (2014) when the #7-seed Tar Heels advanced to their first-ever Regional Final (Elite Eight) where they dropped a heartbreaking, 31-29, fourth set to Texas in the Minneapolis Regional.
UNC returned to Minneapolis for NCAA Regionals in 2016 for the second time in three years. It was the fifth time in school history that Carolina played in Minneapolis. With its 3-1 loss to UCLA, the Tar Heels' all-time record in the Twin Cities fell to 5-7.
Five of UNC's eight nonconference opponents were selected to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including two of the top three overall seeds. UNC lost to #2-Minnesota but defeated #3-seed Wisconsin and #16-seed Penn State earlier in the season. Additionally, SMU and TCU earned postseason bids along with ACC opponents Florida State and Pittsburgh.
All seven of Carolina's regular-season opponents advanced to the Second Round and four made it to NCAA Regionals. #2 Minnesota and #3 Wisconsin hosted Regionals and made it to the Elite Eight, with the Golden Gophers advancing all the way to the Final Four. #16 Penn State defeated ACC member Pitt to advance to the Lincoln Regional where it lost a heart-breaker to #1 Nebraska in five sets. Florida State came back from down 0-2 to defeat rival #11 Florida and advance to the Madison Regional, where eventual national champion #6 Stanford won, 3-1, in the Regional Semis. TCU defeated Wichita State in the First Round before falling to #1 Nebraska, while SMU beat Texas A&M but lost to national runner-up #4 Texas in the Second Round.
UNC Sweeps AVCA Region Awards
Pin hitters Taylor Leath, Taylor Treacy and Julia Scoles were all named AVCA All-East Coast Region. The same trio earned First-Team All-ACC honors. A redshirt-senior opposite hitter, Treacy claimed her second consecutive All-Region award, while underclassmen Leath and Scoles made the All-Region Team for the first time. Leath went on to earn AVCA All-America Second Team honors, Carolina's fourth All-America award in program history, while Scoles picked up an Honorable Mention.
ACC Freshman of the Year Scoles became the second Tar Heel ever to win Region Freshman of the Year (Paige Neuenfeldt, 2012), while head coach Joe Sagula, the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year, garnered his fourth career AVCA Region Coach of the Year award (1998, 2001, 2002).
Tar Heels Win 13th ACC Title
With a 3-1 victory over rival Duke on Nov. 23, Carolina clinched its 13th Atlantic Coast Conference title. The Tar Heels captured a school-record 19 ACC victories, going 19-1 in conference play to finish two matches ahead of second-place Florida State (17-3). Thirteen titles is the most for any ACC volleyball program, while 11 outright titles is also more than any other. Duke follows with 11 championships, 10 outright. Head coach Joe Sagula won the ACC Championship for the seventh time in his career, tying former Duke coach Jon Wilson for the most in league history.
The official ACC title was determined by the ACC Tournament from 1980-2004, during which time Carolina took home nine league championships. During that span UNC also finished atop the regular-season standings nine times, winning both the regular season and the ACC Tournament five times (1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 2000). The final ACC Volleyball Tournament was played in 2004, and ever since the ACC Champion has been determined by the regular-season standings. Carolina tied Maryland for first place at 18-4 in 2005 for the first-ever ACC Co-Championship. UNC tied Duke in 2008 (15-5), before winning the outright title in 2014 (17-1).
Carolina Racks Up Conference Honors
Following such a successful regular season, seven Tar Heels took home postseason awards from the ACC. Sophomore Taylor Leath earned ACC Player of the Year, Julia Scoles won ACC Freshman of the Year, and Joe Sagula took home his fifth career ACC Coach of the Year award as Carolina won three of the five individual awards. Leath, Scoles and Taylor Treacy were named First-Team All-ACC, while Taylor Fricano and Abigail Curry garnered Second Team honors. Additionally, Scoles and Taylor Borup earned places on the All-Freshman Team.
Leath is the sixth Tar Heel to win ACC Player of the Year and first since 2005, while Scoles is the fourth to be named ACC Freshman of the Year and third in the past six seasons. UNC won both ACC Player and Freshman of the Year for the first time since 1989, when Carolina won the regular season and tournament championship and captured all three individual honors. UNC placed a school-record five players on the all-conference list and claimed three spots on the First Team for the eighth time. Two Tar Heels appeared on the All-Freshman team for the second time ever (1999).
Efficiency Is Key
The Tar Heels were extremely efficient on offense in 2016, posting the second-highest team hitting percentage in program history at .273. The mark is second only to a .275 clip from way back in 1983. Carolina hit over .300 13 times on the season, including a .489 clip against Clemson on Nov. 11. The .489 mark was the second-highest during the rally-scoring era. UNC held itself to single-digit errors in five matches, including a rally-scoring record-low five in the Clemson sweep.
Junior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn was the only qualifying player in the ACC to finish the season with a hitting percentage above .400, as the Tar Heel middle finished year with an impressive .446 clip. The next-best hitter in the ACC finished nearly .100 points behind her at .359.
Meanwhile, Carolina's defense held its opponents to the fourth-lowest hitting percentage in program history at an ACC-leading .165. The 2008 Tar Heels fielded the steadiest defense, holding their opponents to .148 hitting behind an average of 18.21 digs per set and 13 sweeps.
Block Party
Carolina's blocking unit, which ranked in the top five in the nation in each of the past two seasons, continued to dominate hitters in 2016, as UNC led the ACC and ranked sixth in the nation with 2.99 blocks per set.
The Tar Heel blocking unit set a new season record for block assists during the regular-season finale and finished the year with a total of 661 block assists—62 more than the previous record of 599 set it 2014.
Carolina posted 22 double-digit blocking matches, including the first 20-block performance since 2006 at Duke on Sept. 1. Redshirt freshman Sydnye Fields broke UNC's single-match block assists record with 15 (16 total) against Duke, while the team's 38 block assists (21.0 total) broke the program record by four.
Fields, who missed the final month of the regular season with an injury, finished ninth all time at UNC and third in the ACC with 1.38 blocks per set on the season—the second-highest average ever for a Tar Heel freshman.
Taylor Fricano finished fourth overall in the ACC and third during conference play in blocks per set (1.49). The redshirt junior, in her first season playing middle hitter, tied the all-time record for block assists in a season in the final set of the year, finishing with 142 block assists and 158 total stuffs. A new rally-scoring record, she tied Krista Buchholz's mark of 142 from 2000, doing so in four fewer sets played (118). Additionally, her 158 blocks ranked 21st in the nation while she finished 28th nationally in blocks per set.
Senior Taylor Treacy broke into the top 10 of the career charts on Dec. 2 with her 280th career block assist. She finished her Tar Heel career with 287 block assists, good for 10th all time.
Carolina Takes Down Record Three Top-10 Teams
The Tar Heels took on an extremely difficult slate in 2016, yet came through with a pristine 29-4 campaign. Carolina went an impressive 4-2 against ranked opponents and set a new school record with three victories over top-10 teams.
UNC took down No. 9 Penn State in State College on Aug. 27. The win marked the first home nonconference loss for the seven-time national champion Nittany Lions in five years (Oregon, 8/26/11), and just its 15th nonconference defeat at home in the history of the program. Penn State entered the match 316-14 (.958) all time at home in nonconference play and 580-33 (.946) overall at home.
Carolina made history once again on Sept. 9, knocking off No. 2 Wisconsin in five sets at Carmichael Arena. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge victory was Carolina's first ever over a team ranked in the top two. UNC defeated the third-ranked team in the nation in both 2014 and 2015.
The Tar Heels took their first loss of the year the following night at the hands of No. 5 Minnesota, but returned to its winning ways on Nov. 6, coming back from down 0-2 on the road to defeat No. 10 Florida State, 3-2.
Carolina's season came to an end in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Dec. 9 at the hands of No. 8 UCLA, finishing the season with a 3-2 overall record against top-10 opponents (9-30 all time). UNC defeated more than one top-10 team in 2016 for the first time in the history of the AVCA Poll.
UNC played nine matches against teams that were ranked in the top 25 of the final RPI and went 6-3. Carolina defeated #4 Wisconsin, #18 Florida State (twice), #21 TCU, #22 Penn State and #25 SMU. The Tar Heels' four losses came to #1 Minnesota, #8 UCLA #21 TCU and #36 Pittsburgh, all of whom made the NCAA Tournament. UNC took care of business against weaker opponents, going a perfect 20-0 against teams ranked outside the top 50 with 12 sweeps.
Going the Distance
The Tar Heels played in nine five-set matches on the season and ran an impressive 7-2 record in those marathon contests. Carolina's seven wins tied the all-time program record set in 1996, when the Tar Heels also went 7-2 in five-set matches. Similarly, UNC battled back from down 0-2 twice in that season, including a marquee comeback win over No. 4 Nebraska.
UNC played in a program-record 11 five-setters twice, in 2005 (5-6) and 1990 (2-9). Additionally, the Tar Heels went 4-6 over 10 five-set matches in 2009.
Conversely, UNC captured 16 of its 29 victories in straight sets, going a perfect 16-0 in three-setters.
Tar Heels Ranked 11th in Final AVCA Poll
Following a successful season in 2015, Carolina opened the year ranked No. 19 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. It marked the third consecutive season that the Tar Heels began in the AVCA top-20 and the fourth time in program history.
UNC used a strong opening weekend, including a defeat of No. 9 Penn State, to jump to No. 12 in the first regular season poll. Another top-10 victory later—defeating No. 2 Wisconsin—UNC moved into the top 10, jumping from No. 11 (Sept. 5) to No. 8 on Sept. 12. It marked the 11th time UNC had appeared in the AVCA Top 10.
The Tar Heels remained in the top 12 every week since the first regular season poll, and after a key comeback victory over Georgia Tech, UNC achieved its highest ranking ever on Nov. 14, 2016, moving up two spots to No. 6 where it remained for the final three regular-season polls. UNC has been in the top 10 in 20 AVCA Polls, including 10 weeks of 2016. Carolina ranked No. 11 in the 2016 Final Poll.
UNC debuted in the AVCA Poll at No. 24 on Oct. 13, 1998. The Tar Heels bounced in and out of the top 25 over the next five years, appearing in at least one poll each season through 2003. After dropping out of the rankings early in '03, it took nearly a decade to return to the rankings, when the Heels earned a No. 22 ranking on Nov. 5, 2012.
The Tar Heels stayed in the top 25 for 33 consecutive weeks from Sept. 2, 2013, through Aug. 31, 2015, peaking at No. 7 for five straight weeks. UNC returned to the poll on Nov. 9, 2015, and has appeared in every poll since.
UNC's first-ever top-10 ranking came on Oct. 7, 2013, after opening the season 15-0. The Tar Heels returned to the top 10 at No. 9 on Oct. 20, 2014, and stayed for nine straight weeks, topping out at No. 7 for five consecutive polls. A rough opening weekend in 2015 knocked UNC down a peg, and the Tar Heels stayed out of the top 10 until Sept. 12, 2016.
Hot Streak
UNC got off to its best start to ACC play in program history, opening the conference slate with 11 straight wins. The final team in a Power 5 conference to take a loss in conference play, the Tar Heels won the ACC title outright at 19-1.
Carolina began the 2001 ACC slate 9-0 before falling in five sets to Maryland with a heartbreaking 16-14 fifth-set score. Carolina opened the conference campaign at 8-0 twice before, in 1999 and 2002. All three times, the Tar Heels won either the regular season or the ACC Tournament.
The Tar Heels went undefeated in conference play three times, all back in the 80s when the ACC slate featured a single round robin against the much smaller ACC field. UNC went 7-0 in 1986 and 6-0 in both 1982 and 1989.
The 11-0 start to ACC play featured an 11-match overall winning streak, marking the third straight season that UNC posted a double-digit winning streak. Additionally, Carolina entered the NCAA Regional riding a 10-match winning streak, the 14th double-digit streak in program history. 2016 was the second season in school history in which UNC posted multiple double-digit winning streaks, after the Heels recorded two 10-match streaks in 1980. Just like this season, the 1980 Heels had just a single loss between double-digit streaks.
Carolina won 12 straight matches in ACC play in 2015 before dropping the final match of the regular season to Duke. After losing the 2014 ACC opener at Florida State, the Tar Heels rattled off a school-record 20 straight victories to win the ACC title and make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.
Despite an extremely challenging nonconference slate, the Tar Heels finished fifth in the nation with an .879 winning percentage at 29-4. It is the third-best hitting percentage in program history, trailing only Carolina's previous two NCAA Regional appearances. UNC set a school record at .906 (29-3) in 2014 and went 32-4 (.889) in 2002.
Tar Heels Storm Back from Down 0-2 TWICE
Carolina found itself in an 0-2 hole in Tallahassee on Nov. 6, dropping the first two sets 25-13 and 25-21 to No. 10 Florida State, a team the Tar Heels had swept at home just one month earlier. The Tar Heels never backed down, exploding out of the break to win the third set, 25-11, and take a dominating 8-1 lead in the fourth. FSU battled back to overtake the lead late, 21-18, but UNC rattled off seven of the final eight points of the set to win it 25-22 and force a fifth set. It was the Seminoles who had the late lead again in the fifth, pulling ahead 9-5 and 13-10, but the Tar Heels rallied together to win five straight points and knock off No. 10 Florida State, 15-13, in the fifth.
The win marked UNC's program-record third over a top-10 team in 2016 and snapped a six-match losing streak in Tallahassee. UNC had not defeated FSU in Tully Gym since 2008 and had gone a meager 1-12 in Tallahassee since 2002. Additionally, Carolina swept the season series against Florida State for the first time since 2000. Sophomore Taylor Leath was named Sports Imports/AVCA and espnW National Player of the Week after posting 26 kills and 13 digs in the win.
Six days later on Nov. 12, the Tar Heels once again found themselves trailing 0-2 to a team they had swept earlier in the season. However, Carolina rallied once again, defeating Georgia Tech 25-14, 25-15, 15-8, to snatch the match from the Yellow Jackets.
UNC's comeback win at Florida State marked the fourth season in a row that the Tar Heels came back from an 0-2 deficit on the road. Carolina's home comeback was the first since 2010—also against Georgia Tech. UNC trailed 0-2 in a match just three time all season—and won twice. Carolina's sole loss came at the hands of then-No. 5 Minnesota, 3-1. The Tar Heels were not swept once all season.
Sagula First To 300
With a sweep of Syracuse on Oct. 23, 2016, head coach Joe Sagula captured his 300th career ACC victory. The all-time ACC wins leader in terms of victories in conference play, Sagula became the first ACC coach in conference history to reach the 300-win mark. Sagula reached the milestone in his 440th ACC game, for an .864 career winning percentage to that point.
Sagula has over 75 more ACC victories than the next conference head coach, as Duke head coach Jolene Nagel (1999-present) overtook former Clemson skipper Jolene Hoover (1993-14) for second with her 225th ACC victory on Nov. 6. Hoover retired with a 224-166 ACC record over 22 seasons.
Taylor Leath Named National Player of the Week
After collecting her second ACC Player of the Week award on Nov. 7, redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath was named National Player of the Week by both AVCA/Sports Imports and espnW, marking the first time in program history that a Tar Heel has earned the national honor from the AVCA. Leath spearheaded the Carolina comeback against No. 10 Florida State, posting a double-double with a career-high 26 kills and 13 digs. She recorded the most kills for a Tar Heels since 2005 while leading Carolina to its first victory at FSU since 2008. Leath led UNC in kills and posted a double-double in all three wins over top-10 opponents this season, averaging 22.3 kills and 16 digs per match.
Can You Dig It?
Carolina's defense was lights out on Oct. 14, recording the first 100-dig match (107) since Oct. 9, 2011 (108 vs. Miami), to grind out a 3-2 victory at Notre Dame and become the last team to remain undefeated in ACC play. Libero Sheila Doyle put on a career performance, tallying 40 digs, while Taylor Leath posted 23 and Julia Scoles put up 21 digs to go with 23 kills. Doyle became just the second Tar Heel in school history to record 40 digs in a match, trailing only Taylor Rayfield's 53 against the College of Charleston in a 3-1 loss during the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Doyle's impressive play landed the senior her first career ACC Player of the Week award. Meanwhile, Scoles posted the first kills-digs 20-20 since Emily McGee's 23-kill, 21-dig performance in that same 2011 Miami match, and just the third since 2005.
Tar Heels Dominate ACC Weekly Awards
Carolina slashed countless program records this season by taking home 10 ACC weekly honors this season. Julia Scoles exploded onto the scene by winning the first two ACC Freshman of the Week awards. The first true freshman since 1989 to be named ACC Player of the Week on Oct. 10, she became the second Tar Heel ever to win it on consecutive weeks on Oct. 17. The impressive rookie went on to be named ACC Freshman of the Year and earn places on the All-ACC First Team and All-Freshman Team.
Redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath impressed throughout the season, becoming the second Tar Heel ever to win ACC Player of the Week three times in the same season (9/12, 11/7, 11/28). She also earned national player of the week awards from three different outlets, winning FloVolleyball NCAA Player of the Week on Sept. 12 and both Sports Imports/AVCA and espnW National Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 7.
Three additional Tar Heels captured ACC Player of the Week awards throughout the season, in Taylor Treacy (Aug. 29), Sydnye Fields (Sept. 5) and Sheila Doyle (Oct. 17) for a school-record five different honorees.
Ten total weekly awards breaks the previous record of eight set in 1999 and matched in 2012, while eight ACC Player of the Week nods bests the previous mark of five from 1989. Additionally, five different honorees is the most Tar Heels ever to receive weekly awards in the same season.
Taylor Made
The 2016 roster features four student-athletes with the first name Taylor, one in each class. Carolina returns veteran fifth-year senior Taylor Treacy, along with redshirt junior Taylor Fricano. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath returns to the outside, and Taylor Borup joins the group as a true freshman. All four Taylors were pin hitters, but Fricano made the transition to the middle during preseason. The first "triple Taylor block" was recorded against West Virginia on Aug. 27, and it is possible for all four to be on the court at the same time.
While Carolina's volunteer assistant goes by his middle name Scott, Coach Hartley's first name is also Taylor.
Heels Top No. 2 Wisconsin for First-Ever Top-Two Win
On Sept. 9, the Tar Heels outlasted Wisconsin's relentless defense to defeat the No. 2 Badgers, 3-2, marking the third straight season with a top-three victory and first ever win over a top-two opponent. Taylor Leath was a driving force for Carolina, recording the most kills for a Tar Heel since 2011 and nearing a 20-20 with career highs of 23 kills and 19 digs. Freshman Julia Scoles totaled 18 kills and 15 digs, both personal highs, while former Badger Taylor Fricano posted career highs with 15 kills and seven blocks, hitting .407. The Tar Heels tallied a total of 17.0 blocks in the match, holding No. 2 Wisconsin to a .139 attack percentage, while libero Sheila Doyle put up an impressive 27 digs.
Heels Take Down No. 9 PSU, Win Penn State Classic
The Tar Heels had a fantastic start to the season, sweeping the Penn State Classic with straight-set victories over Georgia Southern and West Virginia and comeback five-set defeat of No. 9 Penn State. Trailing 23-18 in the fourth set, Julia Scoles served up a 7-0 run capped off by an ace to force a fifth set, then the Tar Heels dominated in the tiebreaker, winning the match with a 15-9 decision.
Scoles was named the Most Valuable Player of the Penn State Classic, and subsequently ACC Freshman of the Week, after leading the Tar Heels with 30 kills and 33 digs on the weekend with a pair of double-doubles, four aces and eight blocks. State College native Taylor Leath earned a place on the All-Tournament Team after having a career night against the Nittany Lions with 18 kills, 16 digs, four blocks and two aces, all personal bests. Taylor Treacy was a steady contributor all weekend, earning All-Tournament honors and ACC Player of the Week after hitting .322 with 25 kills and eight blocks. Additionally, Sydnye Fields was a force to be reckoned with at the net, totaling 22 blocks on the weekend, including 11 against Penn State.
