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University of North Carolina Athletics
Taylor Leath Earns Player of the Week Honors
September 12, 2016 | Volleyball
GREENSBORO – Carolina redshirt sophomore Taylor Leath led Carolina to its first-ever victory over a top-two team on Friday night, putting on a dazzling display against No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 5 Minnesota at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. After her impressive performance, FloVolleyball has selected Leath as its NCAA Player of the Week while the Atlantic Coast Conference tabbed Leath with ACC Player of the Week honors. The sophomore outside hitter is the third straight Tar Heel to earn ACC Player of the Week, while she captured the fifth conference weekly award for Carolina this season.
“I am very excited for Taylor to be recognized for her strong effort both offensively and defensively,” said head coach Joe Sagula. “She has worked really hard this year on her game. She seems to step it up in big time matches. She is developing more confidence, and—this is important for this young group—she has become an important leader for this team.”
Leath led the Tar Heels in kills by a significant margin over the weekend, totaling 36 kills and 21 digs against a pair of tough top-five opponents. The redshirt sophomore led UNC to its best win in program history on Friday night, registering 23 kills and 19 digs to lead Carolina past No. 2 Wisconsin in five sets. Her performance was Carolina's first 20-kill outing since 2013 and was the most kills by a Tar Heel in a match since 2011.
The Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, native followed Friday's performance with efficient attacking against No. 5 Minnesota on Saturday, hitting .370 with 13 kills against the Golden Gophers. Leath's strong weekend landed her a place on the ACC/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team.
In addition to Player of the Week, the Atlantic Coast Conference bestowed the honor of ACC Freshman of the Week upon Georgia Tech's Kodie Comby—the first ACC weekly award given to a player other than a Tar Heel this season. Comby helped her team sweep the competition at the Georgia Challenge highlighted by the Yellow Jackets' 3-0 win over previously undefeated Georgia. In that match, she recorded eight kills, four digs and .400 hitting percentage. Against Kennesaw State the freshman had a season-high 12 kills and .400 hitting percentage, and tallied a .333 hitting percentage against Georgia State. Overall, Comby averaged 2.75 kills per set and a .474 hitting percentage which earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.
2016 ACC Players of the Week:
Aug. 29 – Taylor Treacy, North Carolina
Sept. 5 – Sydnye Fields, North Carolina
Sept. 12 – Taylor Leath, North Carolina
2016 ACC Freshmen of the Week:
Aug. 29 – Julia Scoles, North Carolina
Sept. 5 – Julia Scoles, North Carolina
Sept. 12 – Kodie Comby, GT
2016 FloVolleyball NCAA Players of the Week:
Aug. 29 – Molly Haggerty, Wisconsin
Sept. 5 – McKenna Miller, BYU
Sept. 12 – Taylor Leath, North Carolina
