May 6, 2004

Chapel Hill, N.C. - The North Carolina volleyball team has announced its team captains for the 2004 season and its 2003 season award winners. Rising seniors Molly Pyles and Katie Wright are the 2004 team captains as selected by the team. The co-MVP's of the 2003 season are Pyles and graduating senior Aletha Green as announced at the team's end of the year banquet.

Pyles, a native of Hendersonville, N.C., led the team in kills last season as she averaged 3.58 per game and was second in digs with a 3.32 per/game mark. This is Pyles second-straight season as a team captain as her and Green were the 2003 captains. Wright, a native of Atlanta, Ga., is UNC's returning leader in blocks per game. She averaged 0.98 blocks per game in 2003 and also had 320 kills and a hitting percentage of .302.

Green earned co-MVP honors after leading the team in blocks with 1.30 per game. She also averaged 2.28 kills per game on a hitting percentage of .292. Green ended her UNC career ranking third all-time in team history in career hitting percentage (.303) and blocks per game (1.13).

Katie Wright, along with being named a 2004 captain, also earned the 2003 Most Improved Player award and the John C. Lotz Memorial award. The Lotz award goes to the "unsung hero" of the team, who is willing to help her teammates succeed, and who also reaches into the community to help the less fortunate.

The team's Rookie of the Year award went to Meg Eckert after she led all UNC freshman in kills, blocks, digs and service aces. Eckert was named to the 2003 Freshman All-ACC team for her accomplishments.

Rising senior Caroline deRoeck earned the 2003 Carol and J. Hawley Oakes Award for Excellence. The Durham, N.C. native won the award for demonstrating consistency and a competitive drive that sets the standard for her team's performance. DeRoeck led the team in digs with 3.53 per game last season.

Other award winners included rising senior Jayme Mitchell (Jean E. Kindy Memorial Award) and graduating senior Tammy Foxworth (Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete Award).

The team's Spring season award, The Mighty Ram Award, went to rising junior Dani Nyenhuis. The award is given to the player who has demonstrated the most improvements in the spring season.