University of North Carolina outside hitter Taylor Leath has been named the Division I National Player of the Week by the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA). She paired that honor with an ACC Co-Player of the Week won on Monday.
Leath becomes the first Tar Heel to win this prestigious national award in program history after leading the team to a historic upset of #10 Florida State on Sunday. After UNC went down 2 sets to 0, they dominated a thunderous third set 25-11 and ran off two more to take the match and a sturdy lead in the ACC conference standings. The match is the first time North Carolina has defeated Florida State on the road since 2008 and was UNC’s first season sweep of the powerhouse Seminoles since 2000.
In three matches against top 10 opponents this season, Leath has played at her best when the results counted most:
- September 9th, 3-2 win over #2 Wisconsin – Leath had 23 kills, 19 digs, 3 blocks, and an ace
- September 10th, 3-1 loss to #5 Minnesota – Leath had 12 kills, hitting .370
- November 6th, 3-2 win over #10 Florida State – Leath had 26 kills, hitting .360, with 13 digs and 2 blocks
Her total on Sunday is the highest for any Tar Heel since 2005. Two days earlier, she hit at .364 with a modest 9-kill, 8-dig performance over Miami, though UNC used 13 players in the game. That game saw UNC down 18-10 in the 4th set, from which they came back to finish off the result. After that game, head coach Joe Sagula said he was encouraged by the team coming back, which is something they hadn’t done since early in the season. Perhaps some foreshadowing on what was to come 2 days later.
“To put it simply, I am very proud of Taylor and this program’s accomplishments so far this season,” head coach Joe Sagula said. “She inspired her teammates and they responded with a great team effort to be able to come from behind in numerous sets. I am very proud of her leadership and how hard she worked on the court.”
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