Volleyball Begins Season at Virginia Tech

CHAPEL HILL – After nearly two months of practice, Carolina's long-awaited 2020 season begins at Virginia Tech Thursday at 8 p.m. broadcast live on the ACC Network from Blacksburg, Va.

UNC faces the Hokies for a second time Friday at 5 p.m. before returning to Chapel Hill. Friday's match will be available on ACCNX. Following a bye week, the Tar Heel host Virginia in Carmichael Arena Oct. 9 and 11.

Coach's Comments
"We're ready. We're excited to see another team across the net. We've had seven weeks to prepare and hone our skills. We're young team with six newcomers but we've had extended time to develop. We learned so much from this past year. I feel that we are in a good place. Our goal is to be as consistent as possible and to play our game. We'll look to play a faster tempo and be a gritty team, defensively. This is a team that can continue to grow and develop throughout both the fall and spring. I'm really proud of where we are right now." – head coach Joe Sagula

Picking Up Where We Left Off
The Tar Heels begin their unique 2020 campaign right where last season ended: in Cassell Coliseum vs. the Virginia Tech Hokies. With six newcomers for Carolina and a new coach at the helm of the Hokies, the 2020 meetings of the two teams will look much different than 2019.
Carolina won the first meeting in 2019, 3-1 in Carmichael Arena. The Tar Heels balanced their offense between Parker Austin and Aristea Tontai, each with double-digit kills in the four-set win.
In the final match of 2019, Virginia Tech capitalized on its home court advantage to prevail with a 3-2 win, limiting the Tar Heels to a .095 attack percentage. Returners Destiny Cox and Skyy Howard posted double-digit kills while Annabelle Archer paced the team in the 5-1 system with 43 assists.

Series History
Series: Carolina leads, 27-8
Last time: Virginia Tech won, 3-2 on Nov. 29, 2019 in Blacksburg, Va.

Season Outlook
» Recent inductee into the NC Volleyball Hall of Fame, head coach Joe Sagula begins his 31st season at the helm of the Tar Heels with six newcomers and 10 returners. The Tar Heels finished the 2019 season third in the ACC with their first winning season in three years.
» Sophomores Parker Austin and Skyy Howard garnered ACC all-freshman honors in 2019 while transfer Niki Khoshatefeh earned all-America East freshmen honors at UMBC during her collegiate debut. Fellow transfer Amanda Phegley brings two seasons of NCAA post-season experience at Penn State to the Tar Heels as a middle/right side hitter.
» Carolina's four freshmen, Aziah Buckner, Kaya Merkler, Maylen Mitrovich and Sydney Reed, bring USA Volleyball experience, as well as three state championships for their respective high schools. The class includes two Under Armour all-American honorable mentions, an AVCA Phenom, a PrepVolleyball High School All-American, the Virginia State Gatorade Player of the Year and several all-state honors.
» Statistically, UNC averaged 2.68 blocks per set as a team to sit 16th in the NCAA. Senior Aristea Tontai led Carolina's blocking efforts, ranking 24th nationally and third in the ACC with 1.34 blocks per set in 2019. Howard averaged 1.05 per set to place ninth in the league standings.

Roster Updates
» Sophomore middle blocker Skyy Howard is medically redshirting the fall semester.
» Redshirt-junior Raleigh Clark medically retired and will continue with the program as an undergraduate assistant coach. Maddie Grace Hough begins her second season as an undergraduate assistant coach.

We are the Captains Now
Voted on by their peers, senior Aristea Tontai and juniors Annabelle Archer and Ryan Shannon are Carolina Volleyball's 2020-21 team captains.

Up Next
Following a bye week, the Tar Heels host Virginia on Oct. 9 and 11 in Carmichael Arena. Friday's 6:30 p.m. match will be streamed live on ACCNX and Sunday's 5:30 p.m. match is live on RSN.

Stay up to date with Carolina Volleyball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Annabelle Archer

Parker Austin

Aziah Buckner

Raleigh Clark

Destiny Cox

Skyy Howard

Niki Khoshatefeh

Kaya Merkler

Maylen Mitrovich

Amanda Phegley

Sydney Reed

Ryan Shannon

Aristea Tontai