Nov. 5, 2007

Special to Tarheelblue.com by Daniel Blank

Christine Vaughen's coaches have been preaching patience to her and they've been seeing improvement all season. But it was match point and Vaughen just wanted to complete the sweep of Maryland.

Immediately.

So Vaughen demanded the ball, setter Stephanie Jansma lofted a pass to her and the sophomore got on top of the ball and smashed it straight down for the emphatic kill. Point Tar Heels. Cue `Hark the Sound.' Good night and drive home safely.

Ah, if only things were always that simple for Vaughen and the Tar Heels. Throughout the season the fortunes of the second-year middle hitter and her youthful squad (all but one player who saw significant action Sunday will be back next year) have seemingly been tied together.

The Tar Heels' 12-13 mark (8-8 in the ACC) underscore a season packed with ups and downs, the sort of inconsistencies characteristic of inexperience. But if the inspired - and more patient - play of Vaughen and fellow sophomore middle hitter Heather Brooks is any indication, Carolina's three straight in-conference sweeps could be a harbinger of steadier success for the rest of the season and beyond.

"This is why we've been inconsistent. We trust them but we were trying to control and set their parameters so that we can't distinguish their highs and lows," said Coach Joe Sagula, who is working with one of his youngest teams in 18 seasons at Carolina. "They're the best athletes on the court and that's why they're out there. So we have to trust that they're going to execute and get better. And they are."

The weekend sweeps of Boston College and Maryland show just how much Brooks and, in particular Vaughen, have been heeding their coaches' advice. In the two matches, Brooks recorded 16 kills with one just error while also adding three solo blocks and nine block assists.

"Heather is someone who we've tried to increase her offensive production - she was a little too conservative, we wanted her to be more aggressive," Sagula said. "She's one of the most dominant blockers in the conference."

But it was Vaughen's line in the box score that was most telling. Vaughen had 11 kills on 16 attempts with two errors against BC. But she was even more impressive against Maryland, recording 13 kills in 22 attempts while not committing a single error.

It's that last stat that shows the extent of Vaughen's development this year. She might be the most powerful hitter on the team but she was too much in love with that power. Vaughen was the equivalent of a baseball slugger, swinging from the heels every time and hitting some impressive home runs but striking out even more.

"Christine Vaughen is probably one of the most powerful middles in the conference but she was kind of reckless with her play," Sagula said. "She was just kind of going off and ripping it, but she realized, no matter how hard you hit it, if it's out by four feet, it doesn't matter if you hit it as hard as possible. Now she's hitting at a high efficiency."

Sagula has been running the offense through the middle more than ever this season, but the top priority of a middle hitter is still defense. While outside hitters can be more daring in their attacks, the middles must be low-risk players. Kills from the middle hitters are a bonus, but first and foremost, they have to keep the ball on the court.

Sagula didn't want to reel in Vaughen's power, but he also had to convince her that not every attack had to result in a kill. Her play in the last few weeks has proven that the message has sunk in.

"At the beginning of the year I hadn't realized that it wasn't like high school volleyball where you can just swing at the ball every time you feel like it," Vaughen said. "It's a different level. I had to be a lot smarter and learn to place the ball instead of just swinging away and getting the kill. That was one of the things I had to learn playing in college.

"I was still kind of doing that last year, but the more I've played this year the more I've realized I have to be a smarter hitter, not just a `swing at every ball' kind of hitter."

As Vaughen matures the team can depend on her more and more. Vaughen contributed four kills to Carolina's 14-2 run in Game 1 Sunday, a run that turned a see-saw battle into a victory for the Heels and might've permanently turned the momentum in their favor.

"We'd love to have been playing like this a month ago. I don't think we were ready," Sagula said of his team's three-game winning streak that has the Tar Heels back to .500 in ACC play. "(The coaches) knew we were ready, we knew what we wanted to do but they kind of had to figure it out on the court."

The key to the recent turnaround has been Vaughen and Brooks testing their limitations, learning where they need to grow and how to do it. For Vaughen, it has meant being more patient while Brooks has been pushed to be more aggressive and let her offensive talents flourish. Now their differing styles - Vaughen the pounding offensive weapon and Brooks the steady defensive force - are starting to mesh nicely to solidify the middle of the court for Carolina.

"Vaughen's going to rip it and ... Heather's learned what her game is," Sagula said.

"(Brooks) can be high, tip it, keep it in the court and if she gets it high enough to reach, she can swing at it. And she's also scoring points with her blocking. We told her, she should be the leading blocker in the conference, she should have that mentality.

"Vaughen is realizing, `I want to be the hardest hitter, but I also want to keep my team in the game.' I thought earlier in the year, we played kind of selfishly, we wanted to try to figure it out individually instead of working it out as a team. Now it's all kind of falling into place."

The two young middle hitters have met halfway to strike a nice balance. What it adds up to is one strong middle for years to come.