2017 Volleyball Roster
Taylor Leath
- Position:
- OH
- Height:
- 6-3
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Port Matilda, Pa.
- High School:
- State College Area
Career Honors:
2017:
» AVCA All-East Coast Region Honorable Mention
» All-ACC Second Team
» ACC Player of the Week (9/11)
» Preseason All-ACC
» PrepVolleyball Preseason Player of the Year Candidate (Top 12)
» FloVolleyball Preseason National Player of the Year Candidate (Top 10)
» espnW 12 Players Set for Stardom
2016:
» AVCA All-America Second Team
» ACC Player of the Year
» AVCA All-East Coast Region
» All-ACC First Team
» Three-time ACC Player of the Week (9/12, 11/7, 11/28)
» FloVolleyball NCAA Player of the Week (9/12)
» Sports Imports/AVCA Division I Player of the Week (11/8)
» espnW Volleyball Player of the Week (11/9)
» NCAA Regionals All-Tournament Team
» Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team
» ACC/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team
» TCU Horned Frog Challenge MVP
» Preseason All-ACC
» All-ACC Academic Team
» ACC Academic Honor Roll
» UNC Strength & Conditioning Iron Ram Award
2015:
» ACC Academic Honor Roll
2014:
» ACC Academic Honor Roll
2017 (RS Junior): Started all 28 matches and 106 sets as a six-rotation outside hitter • Shouldered an immense amount of responsibility as team captain, due especially to injuries to Julia Scoles and Taylor Borup • Led Carolina with 337 kills (3.17/s), ranking second with 228 digs and 20 aces to go with 57 blocks • Recorded 17 double-digit kill matches, nine double-digit dig matches and six double-doubles • Named ACC Player of the Week on Sept. 11 after hitting .404 with 27 kills and 12 digs against LSU and tallying 16 kills vs. LIU Brooklyn • Her 27 kills were the most for a Tar Heel since 2005, setting a new 25-point rally-scoring record • Hit .442 with 25 kills against NC State (10/18), also in four sets, to cap a six-match double-digit kills streak • Recorded 10+ kills in 14 of 16 matches from Sept. 2 to Oct. 18 • Tallied a season-high 16 digs to go with 15 kills against Georgia Tech (11/9) • Served up three aces against Wake Forest (10/8), then followed with a career-high five aces against Virginia Tech, which tied for fifth-most in a match during the rally-scoring era • All-ACC Second Team • AVCA All-East Coast Region Honorable Mention.
2016 (RS Sophomore): Had a breakout sophomore campaign as a six-rotation outside hitter, earning AVCA Second-Team All-America and ACC Player of the Year • Named ACC Player of the Week three times and earned National Player of the Week honors from three different outlets • Led the team with 374 kills, hitting .252 with 299 digs, 70 blocks, 20 assists and 19 service aces • Named to every all-tournament team, including MVP of the TCU Horned Frog Challenge and the sole Tar Heel on the NCAA Minneapolis Regional All-Tournament Team • Recorded 10 double-doubles, three 20-kill matches and a 20-dig performance • All three 20-kill matches came against top-10 teams • Named ACC and FloVolleyball Player of the Week on Sept. 12 after leading UNC to its highest-ranked victory in school history with 23 kills and 19 digs against No. 2 Wisconsin • One of three Tar Heels with 20 digs against Notre Dame, tallying 23 to go with 15 kills and two aces against the Fighting Irish • Named ACC, AVCA/Sports Imports and espnW Player of the Week the week of Nov. 7 after hitting .360 with 26 kills and 13 digs in Carolina's comeback win at No. 10 Florida State • Earned ACC Player of the Week for the third time on Nov. 28 thanks to a 17-kill, 17-dig, 6-block performance against Duke that sealed the ACC title • Influential in Carolina's memorable victory at No. 9 Penn State, registering 18 kills, 16 digs, four blocks and two aces in front of a hometown crowd • Went out with a bang, recording 20 kills and 16 digs, hitting .333, in Carolina's four-set loss to No. 8 UCLA at NCAA Regionals.
2015 (RS Freshman): Appeared in all-but-one match (98 sets), making 10 starts • Primarily a front row outside hitter but did see time in all six rotations • Totaled 218 kills, 97 digs and 56 blocks • Registered eight double-digit kill matches, including a streak of six straight from Oct. 23-Nov. 8 • Posted her first career double-double at Boston College on Nov. 8 with 14 kills and 10 digs • Registered a personal-best 15 kills in four sets against Notre Dame on Nov. 1 • Had a career day at Clemson, connecting for kills on each of her first 10 swings and finishing the three-set match with 14 kills and a .684 clip, with three blocks and three digs • Had a personal-best 13 digs to go with seven kills against UNCW on Sept. 11 • Named UNC's Rookie of the Year as well as earning the Jean E. Kindy Award for perseverance and inspiration.
2014 (Freshman): Redshirted the 2014 season.
Prep: Ranked as the No. 90 overall recruit by PrepVolleyball.com • Under Armour All-America nominee • Named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year • Named to the “Next 35” on PrepVolleyball.com's Top 50 Juniors List • Did not play junior year due to injury, but was named State College Area High School team captain as a senior and posted 331 kills and 43 aces with a .380 hitting percentage in 72 sets • Named to the PrepVolleyball.com Soph 79 List • Helped lead team to the District 6 title and to the Class 3A State Championship tournament • Named Class 3A All-State as a sophomore • As a freshman, helped her team to the District 6 runner-up and was named District 6 All-Independent • Selected to the Revolution 18s AAU All-Star team as a freshman.
Personal: Born Taylor Elizabeth Leath on July 1, 1996, in Gainesville, Fla. • Daughter of Randall and Susan Leath • Has two siblings, Randall and Randi • Older sister Randi played volleyball at DePaul University and father Randall played basketball at the University of Florida • Participates in the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy in the Veteran Leaders program • An honor roll student, Leath was also involved in State College Best Buddies and worked as a summer volleyball camp volunteer coach • Played the cello • Majoring in media and journalism with a concentration in public relations.
Career Highs:
Kills: 27 vs. LSU (9/10/17)
Attacks: 56 vs. Wisconsin (9/9/16)
Assists: 3, 2x-last vs. LSU (9/10/17)
Aces: 5 vs. Virginia Tech (10/13/17)
Digs: 23 at Notre Dame (10/14/16)
Blocks: 6 vs. Duke (11/23/16)
