Aug. 22, 2001

As the North Carolina volleyball program enters its 27th year of competition, Coach Joe Sagula begins his 12th season at the helm. Under his direction, the Tar Heels are a power in the Atlantic Coast Conference and are gaining prominence nationally, winning the last two Atlantic Coast Conference titles and appearing in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

The 2001 season should prove to be no exception, with Sagula's squad returning five starters and eight letter-winners from last season's team that finished 26-8. The graduation of All-ACC outside hitter Casey Simpson, All-ACC defensive specialist Liz Feldman and defensive specialist Lisa Fryer will be felt, but Sagula feels this squad should be talented enough and experienced enough to counter these losses.

"It's exciting to have depth and quality at each position," Sagula says. "It will make us more competitive, give us more versatility and make practices more intense as well." A look at the roster shows only two seniors and three juniors on the squad, but this team is far from inexperienced.

"We look young on paper, but we're an experienced team," Sagula says. "We have eight players with ACC Championship rings, and five of those were starters. "We may not be senior driven, but we're experienced driven."

Here is a look at the 2001 North Carolina volleyball team by position:

Outside Hitters
The Tar Heels open the season with two of ACC's top outside hitters in junior Laura Greene and sophomore Nicole Reis. Greene was a second team All-ACC performer last season and led Carolina in kills with 439, while Reis was named to the AVCA All-East Region team, the ACC All-Freshman team and was the MVP of the ACC Tournament. Reis was also third in the ACC in kills per game, averaging 4.40 per contest.

"Laura is one of the best all-around outside hitters in the ACC, while Nicole is one of the conference's most dominant and aggressive hitters," says Sagula.

Junior Malaika Underwood and freshmen Molly Pyles and Caroline deRoeck should also see action at outside hitter.

"Malaika has been a driving force for us as an all-around player, particularly this spring," says Sagula.

"It's great having at least five and maybe six outside hitters," Sagula adds. "It gives us an opportunity to maintain quality play over a long weekend."

Middle Hitters
The Tar Heels feature six middles on the 2001 roster. Two of these are senior Krista Buchholz and junior Holly Strauss. Buchholz led the ACC in blocks per game last season with 1.29 , while Strauss was fourth on the list at 1.13 per game. Both Buchholz and Strauss should contend for All-ACC honors this season.

"Krista is one of the most improved players in our program and, statistically, one of the most consistent," Sagula says. "We've had a tradition of great ACC middle hitters at UNC with players like Shannon Smith and Tori Seibert and now Krista has stepped up to that level, along with Holly Strauss.

"Holly is a physical player and a powerful attacker who provides steady play as a middle or right side. Both players' contributions will be very important to the team."

Joining them in the middle are sophomore Aletha Green, freshmen Katie Wright and Camilla Ihenetu and junior Tammy Foxworth, a transfer from Florida.

"Aletha had a great spring and is one of the best blockers on our team," says Sagula. "Tammy is an outstanding athlete with great mobility and should make an immediate impact, while our freshmen, Katie and Camilla, are multi-positional players and should earn court time as well."

Defensive Specialists
Carolina lost two of the ACC's best defensive specialists in Liz Feldman and Lisa Fryer to graduation, but Sagula has three great athletes ready to step in contribute immediately. Senior Melissa Higgins and freshmen Jamie Mitchell and Heather Catlin will all see action at the defensive specialist spot.

"Melissa is a veteran defensive specialist and has shown great improvement," Sagula says. "She learned a lot from Liz and Lisa, and she will be ready to compete this season. Jamie and Heather will add tremendous energy and excitement to our team. They're both very energetic and positive. All three players will give competitive drive to our squad."

Setters
Junior Eve Rackham is the established setter on Carolina's roster, but the Tar Heels are in fine shape at the position as Rackham led the ACC in assists last season with 13.36 per game. Rackham also brings a wealth of experience to the court as she has played in 63 out of 68 matches the last two seasons. "Eve is a veteran setter and very competitive player," says Sagula. "She will provide much of the leadership on the floor in 2001." Malaika nderwood and Caroline deRoek will also see action at the setter position this season.

Schedule
A demanding early-season schedule should have the Tar Heels prepared for an always-tough ACC slate of matches. In 2001, Carolina will match up against nine teams that made the 2000 NCAA Tournament, and will face six of those squads during the season's first 10 matches. "Once again we will be playing a top-notch schedule against some of the best teams in the country," Sagula said of the team's 30-game slate in 2001. "Playing some of those teams early in the season will present a great challenge for us, and one of our goals, obviously, is to beat some of those quality teams."

The Tar Heels start the season by traveling to State College, Pa., for the Penn State Invitational Aug. 31-Sept. 1. There the team will face Villanova, Loyola-Maryland and the host Nittany Lions, who claimed the1999 NCAA Championship and start the 2001 season ranked No. 3 nationally.

The squad returns to North Carolina for a midweek match-up against in-state opponent Davidson, also a 2000 NCAA Tournament participant, before heading to Santa Clara, Calif., for the Santa Clara Invitational Sept. 8-9. The Tar Heels will be matched up against preseason No. 13, UC Santa Barbara, the host Broncos, who are ranked 22nd in the preason poll, as well as a very athletic and competitive Creighton squad.

"This trip will be one of the season's biggest tests for us," Sagula says. "There is not a team we will face that weekend that we'll have an easy match with. But that's what makes it exciting."

The Tar Heels make their 2001 home debut by hosting the Carolina/NIKE Classic Sept. 14-15. National power Pepperdine, and 2000 NCAA Tournament participant Wisconsin-Milwaukee, along with the Georgia Bulldogs, will join Carolina at Carmichael Auditorium for the two-day tournament. "This will be a great way for the team to open our home season," says Sagula. "Pepperdine is always one of the country's top teams and Georgia and Wisconsin-Milwaukee are both very tough. This weekend will be very competitive for us and should provide lots of exciting volleyball for our fans."

Carolina opens ACC action by facing four league opponents in a span of 10 days. The Heels host Virginia and Maryland Sept. 20 and 21 before traveling to Wake Forest and Duke the following weekend. The match against the Blue Devils will be a rematch of last season's ACC championship, which Carolina won 3-1.

The Tar Heels face Clemson, Florida State and ACC preseason No. 1 Georgia Tech the next week before wrapping up the first round of ACC matches Oct. 10 against NC State.

One of the most exciting matches of the year should occur Oct. 12 when the Kansas Jayhawks travel to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels in a game that will precede the men's basketball team's first practice of the season.

"The players, coaches and fans are all looking forward to the Kansas match," Sagula says. "We had almost 7,500 people there last season, and this year we expect a full house of 10,000 Tar Heel fans."

After another round of ACC matches Carolina will participate in the ACC Tournament, where the Tar Heels look to make it three titles in a row.

"Almost every school in the conference has a shot at the ACC title," says Sagula. "Every team in the ACC, from top to bottom, is better than they were in 2000. The conference was good last season, but this year every team will be improved."

A big non-conference match with South Carolina follows the ACC Tournament and rounds out an extremely challenging regular season slate for Sagula and the Tar Heels.