Photo courtesy of volleyballmag.com.

CHAPEL HILL– There are some ladies wearing Carolina jerseys who have been lighting up Carmichael Arena lately. And no, we’re not talking about the women’s basketball team. Not yet, at least.

Off to their best start and ranking in school history, the members of the Tar Heel Volleyball team are brimming with confidence.

But Head Coach Joe Sagula says his No. 10 ranked Carolina squad, currently sitting at 15-0, needs to stay grounded despite all the success they’ve been enjoying this season.

“The confidence is high, but we’re trying to keep it under control. It’s a fine line between being cocky and confident. We are trying to just walk the confidence line. The job of the coaches is to constantly remind us that we have to keep getting better,” Coach Sagula says.

Although only half way through the season, Coach Sagula says he is happy with the amount of attention the volleyball program is receiving.

Coach Sagula says he thinks the biggest growth in his Tar Heel squad has occurred in the overall balance of leadership. He says it helps to have a team full of players looking to step it up at different times.

“I think it’s a shared experience this year. And I think that’s something we were hoping for. Different people have stepped up and helped drive the team to being successful at different times,” Coach Sagula says.

Earlier in the season, redshirt junior Chaniel Nelson was ruled out for the remainder of the year due to a stress fracture in her tibia. But Coach Sagula says the diagnosis cleared up all uncertainty for the Tar Heels and has helped many of his players fill new roles.

“We were going to play hard without her until we knew what the situation was. Once we realized that, it allowed us to go forward and think about how we are going to continue and plan to get better this year with the personnel we have,” Coach Sagula says.

The Tar Heels boast an impressive 29-game home winning streak. And Coach Sagula says defending the home court in Chapel Hill is something Carolina definitely takes pride in.

“We don’t emphasize the streak. However, we do definitely talk about the fact that we want to defend Carmichael Arena. We want to make sure that we are always playing our best at home in front of our home crowd,” Coach Sagula says.

Surveying the ACC title landscape, Coach Sagula says he doesn’t have to look far for Carolina’s toughest competition. That squad happens to be just a short drive down 15-501.

And Friday’s 7 p.m. conference showdown is against those Duke Blue Devils. It will be Carolina’s annual Turn It Pink night for breast cancer awareness. Pink UNC volleyball shirts will be sold, and player jerseys will be auctioned off at Carmichael Arena.

Related Stories
‹
Streak Snapped: Sloppy Tar Heels Fall to Duke
Head Coach Joe Sagula says all the unforced errors, 28 in total, proved to be the undoing of the Tar Heels. Duke only committed 14 errors Friday.
UNC Volleyball Hands No. 14 Duke First Loss of Season
The UNC volleyball team scored the signature victory of its young season on Friday night in Carmichael Arena, handing the No. 14 Duke Blue Devils their first loss of the season by a score of 3-1 (26-24, 25-17, 20-25, 25-16). After trailing by six points late in the first set, the Tar Heels (2-1, 2-1 […]
UNC Volleyball Takes Down Duke in Straight Sets
A fantastic performance by the UNC volleyball team on Thursday night in Chapel Hill saw the Tar Heels earn a clean 3-0 sweep (26-24, 25-20, 25-20) over the rival Duke Blue Devils. The win marked UNC’s first sweep over Duke since Oct. 2015. Lauren Harrison led the Tar Heels (15-11, 12-4) offensively with 12 […]
UNC Volleyball Defeats Duke in Rivalry Clash
After dropping the first set on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the UNC volleyball team picked itself up and swept each of the final three sets for a 3-1 victory (22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-20) over the rival Duke Blue Devils. Lauren Harrison led the Tar Heels (12-11, 9-4 ACC) offensively with 19 kills, while […]
Volleyball: UNC Rallies to Defeat Duke in Five-Set Thriller
Needing to win the final two sets on Saturday in order to steal a road victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium against the rival Duke Blue Devils, the UNC volleyball team did just that. The Tar Heels won 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12) in order to improve to 8-18 this season with a 4-13 mark […]
Duke Sweeps UNC Volleyball 3-0, Delivers Tar Heels 10th Consecutive Loss
Although each set was determined by just two points, the results were all too familiar for the struggling UNC volleyball team on Friday night at Carmichael Arena–as the Tar Heels were swept 3-0 by the rival Duke Blue Devils (23-25, 23-25, 24-26). It was the 10th consecutive loss overall for UNC (5-17, 1-11 ACC), which […]
Volleyball: Tar Heels Earn Hard-Fought Rivalry Win Over Duke
Redshirt freshman Holly Carlton notched her second triple double of the season on Friday night, as she helped lead the UNC volleyball to a comeback victory over the rival Duke Blue Devils at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill. Carlton tallied 13 kills, 18 assists and 11 digs for UNC (6-7, 3-2 ACC), which dropped the […]
UNC Volleyball Sweeps Duke for Sixth Straight Win
Carolina volleyball continued their recent roll on Friday, sweeping the Duke Blue Devils and notching their sixth consecutive win. The result was the second time UNC has swept Duke in three sets this season and the sixth win in their last seven matchups with the Blue Devils. For the second game in a row, freshman […]
Miami Sweeps UNC Volleyball in Regular Season Finale
Saturday marked the final regular season match of the season for the UNC volleyball team, a 3-0 loss on the road at Miami (19-25, 19-25, 21-25). Former Chapel Hill High School standout Kaya Merkler led the Tar Heels (10-8, 9-7 ACC) with 12 kills, but she was the only player to reach double figures in […]
No. 13 Louisville Rolls to Sweep Over UNC Volleyball
Taking on No. 13 Louisville in Coral Gables on Friday, the UNC volleyball team was defeated in straight sets 3-0 (15-25, 26-28, 18-25). UNC battled hard in the second set and nearly won it, but struggled for most of the night against the top team in the conference. Amanda Phegley led the Tar Heels (10-7, […]
›