June 10, 2008

CHAPEL HILL --- The University of North Carolina volleyball team will open its 2008 schedule at the University of Illinois on August 29 against the host Illini, head coach Joe Sagula announced Tuesday. In addition to the opening weekend in Champaign, the 31-match ledger features trips to Colorado and Minnesota as well as the first 20-match Atlantic Coast Conference schedule in league history.

"We are very excited about the quality of opponents we've been able to put together in the non-conference schedule this season," Sagula said. "We will get the chance to test ourselves against a number of nationally competitive opponents, and I think that playing volleyball at that level will only make us better during ACC play."

The Illinois tournament will feature a strong field, as the Tar Heels face a pair of NCAA Tournament teams from 2007 in Oregon and New Mexico State. The following weekend UNC will welcome Georgetown, Davidson and Missouri State to the annual Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill. This year's event and all 14 home matches will be played in the Dean E. Smith Center, the team's temporary home during renovations to Carmichael Auditorium.

"We're looking forward to playing this season in the Smith Center and welcoming another great field to Chapel Hill for our home tournament," Sagula said. "Missouri State is a perennial power in the Missouri Valley, and Georgetown and Davidson are improving squads, so I think it will a nice weekend of volleyball for our fans."

The adoption of a 20-match league schedule provides for an extra weekend of non-conference competition, during which Carolina will play road matches at Colorado State and Colorado. The trip to the Rockies will be a homecoming for senior outside hitter Lauren Prussing, a native of Highlands Ranch.

UNC will close out its non-conference slate with a homecoming trip to Minneapolis for senior libero and Minnesota native Brianna Eskola. The Tar Heels will face Winthrop, TCU and the host Gophers the weekend of Sept. 19-20.

Carolina will open ACC play on Sept. 26 against Maryland. For the fourth year in a row, the conference will not hold a year-end tournament, instead awarding the league title to the regular season champion. In the first year of the 20-match format, Carolina will play 11 home matches and just nine road contests, with the reverse occurring during the 2009 season.

"The ACC should be a very competitive league again this season," Sagula said. "Any number of teams can win the title and I think we could easily get multiple teams into the NCAA Tournament again this season. I really like our schedule because we get to open at home and then finish up at home."

The Tar Heels will close the regular season with a five-match homestand beginning Nov. 13 against Duke and concluding with Senior Night on Nov. 28 against NC State.