Nov. 27, 2005

CHAPEL HILL --- The University of North Carolina volleyball team, the Atlantic Coast Conference champions, will host Purdue, Virginia Commonwealth and the College of Charleston Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2-3, at the Dean E. Smith Center in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Championships, the NCAA announced Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels are hosting for the third time in program history and the first since 2002.

Virginia Commonwealth is the Colonial Athletic champion, College of Charleston is the Southern Conference champion and Purdue is an at-large selection from the Big Ten.

Friday's first match will Purdue-VCU at 5 p.m., followed by UNC-College of Charleston at 7. The winners will then play Saturday night at 6.

Single-match tickets and all-session passes will be available. All-session tickets will be sold up until Friday and are $10 for adults, $6 for students and $4 for children. Single-game tickets will be available the day of the match and are $6 for adults, $5 for students and $4 for children.

Tar Heels In Tournament Play: This year's NCAA-bound squad is the 10th in school history to advance to the tournament. The 2005 berth comes after two straight years of narrowly missing the tournament. Prior to that, Carolina had is two most successful tournament runs in its history. In 2001, UNC hosted for the first time ever and won just its third NCAA Tournament match - a 3-1 win over South Carolina. The 2002 team took it a step further, defeating Winthrop and South Carolina to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Carolina has an all-time tournament record of 5-9, but a 3-1 mark in Chapel Hill. Prior to 2005, the Tar Heels played all of their home tournament matches at Carmichael Auditorium.

History Against The Cougars: Friday's match against the College of Charleston will mark the fourth meeting between the two schools. Carolina holds a 3-0 advantage, but the series has been dormant for quite some time. The last meeting came in 1980, a 2-0 UNC win. Other meetings came in 1979 and 1975, and all three matches were played at neutral sites.

How They Got Here: Three of the four teams in Chapel Hill this weekend come as automatic qualifiers from their respective conferences. Virginia Commonwealth is the Colonial Athletic Association champion, having beaten Towson in the CAA Tournament final. The College of Charleston is the Southern Conference champion, having beaten Coastal Carolina in the SoCon Tournament final. UNC is the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, having defeated Maryland on the final day of the regular season to win the league. Purdue is the lone at-large team, having finished fifth in the highly competitive Big Ten.

Back To The Smith Center: After posting impressive three-game wins over Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech at the Smith Center earlier in 2005, the Tar Heels return there for this weekend's NCAA matches. Carolina volleyball has never lost in the Smith Center, with its only other match coming in 2003 - a 3-2 win over Duke. That match was played before the largest crowd in NCAA history - 16,126.

Nyenhuis, Sagula Take Top ACC Honors: Senior outside hitter Dani Nyenhuis and head coach Joe Sagula were named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, the league office announced Tuesday. Nyenhuis, a native of St. Charles, Ill., is the fifth Tar Heel in program history to earn the conference's top honor and the first since Laura Greene in 2002. Sagula, in his 16th year with the Tar Heels, earns the award for the third time in his career.

Rayfield, Ihenetu Garner Second-Team Recognition: Senior libero Taylor Rayfield and senior outside hitter Camilla Ihenetu were both named to the All-ACC Second Team, the first career All-ACC honors for the duo. Rayfield led the league with 681 digs, while Ihenetu was ninth in hitting percentage. With three All-ACC selections, Carolina places its highest number on the team since three earned honors in 2002.

Long Winning Streaks: After a non-conference season that was plagued by injuries, Carolina has put together two impressive winning streaks in league play. From Sept. 30 to Oct. 15, the Tar Heels won six straight matches. From Oct. 23 to Nov. 11, UNC took eight straight, five of which came on the road.

Young Talent Sees the Court Early: With the loss of five seniors and injuries to a pair of starters, Meg Eckert (back) and Dani Nyenhuis (shoulder), the Tar Heels have been forced to tap into their strong class of freshman talent. In addition to redshirt freshman Bekah Brinkley, five true freshmen have seen action in 2005 - middle Lauren Taylor, setter Stephanie Jansma, outside hitter Lauren Prussing, defensive specialist Brianna Eskola and defensive specialist Kelly Davies.

Nyenhuis Returns From Injury: Carolina played 10 non-conference matches in 2005 and was forced to play them all shorthanded. Senior outside hitter Dani Nyenhuis suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason and was unable to swing for the first three weeks of the season. Without the services of Nyenhuis, the Tar Heels compiled a 5-5 non-conference record, which they followed up with an 18-4 ACC mark. Nyenhuis has collected 430 of her 452 kills in league play, and ranks among the conference leaders in both kills and digs during ACC matches.

Senior Steps Up: With the loss of Molly Pyles, one of the most prolific hitters in school history, senior Camilla Ihenetu has stepped up to join fellow senior Dani Nyenhuis as one of the team's go-to hitters. Ihenetu has taken 1,252 swings in 2005, good for second on the team, and leads the squad with 453 kills. She also has made great improvements defensively. After registering 176 digs in her three previous seasons, Ihenetu currently has 269 in 2005.

Milestones for Nyenhuis: With 20 kills against Wake Forest on Sept. 30, Dani Nyenhuis reached the 1,000 career kill plateau. The St. Charles, Ill., senior also reached the 1,000 career dig mark this season in an Oct. 28 win at Virginia.

Rayfield Breaks Dig Record: Senior libero Taylor Rayfield is in the midst of one of the greatest defensive seasons in school history. The San Jose, Calif., native recently became the first Tar Heel to ever reach 600 digs in a single season. Rayfield broke Caroline deRoeck's record of 579 with 26 digs against Miami on Nov. 18 and eclipsed the 600 plateau with 20 against Florida State on Nov. 20. Rayfield is also averaging 5.40 digs per game, which would be a new school record. With just 19 more digs this weekend, Rayfield, who sits at 681 digs for the season, would become the first Tar Heel to ever reach 700.

Home Court Advantage: Carolina posted a perfect 11-0 home record in ACC play. The Tar Heels recorded eight wins at Carmichael Auditorium and another three at the Dean Smith Center. UNC was perfect in the Smith Center, winning all nine games against Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.