The University of North Carolina volleyball team entered the NCAA Tournament this week, and two of the key pieces to the Tar Heels' puzzle hail from Huntersville.
Freshmen Chaniel Nelson and Cameron Van Noy represent half of Carolina's All-Atlantic Coast Conference selections, and together form what they call the 'Huntersville Wall' on the Tar Heels' front line.
"It's kinda like our joke because we accumulate a lot of blocks together," says Van Noy. The Citizen caught up with the pair by telephone Tuesday as they awaited their flight to California and a date with some of the 64 best college volleyball teams in the country.
Nelson, a 2010 Hopewell High graduate, leads Carolina with 108 blocks, and Van Noy, who graduated from North Meck last spring, is second on the team with 95 blocks. Nelson plays the right side hitter position, while Van Noy is a middle blocker. Both are 6-foot-2.
"Our blocking is really good," says Nelson. "We're both big. Us together, there's really good chemistry."
Nelson, a sophomore academically, red-shirted last season, but earned a starting spot during the preseason and All-ACC honors in her first year of action. Van Noy, meanwhile, was an invited walk-on and entered the starting lineup Sept. 23 in a 3-0 win at Maryland. She's been a staple in the rotation ever since and was recently named the ACC Freshman of the Year, just the second in Carolina history.
"I was very surprised," says Van Noy. "I didn't see it coming at all."
Nelson and Van Noy were close friends while playing at rival high schools prior to joining forces in Chapel Hill, but playing together has strengthened the friendship of the former Titan and Viking. They say they have benefited from the other's presence, and the two rode home together last week for Thanksgiving.
"It's been good having somebody here I've known from home," says Van Noy. "I came in having a friend."
Now standouts on a team that concluded the regular season with a 23-8 record and a third-place ACC finish, both Nelson and Van Noy entered Carolina with potential, but with work to do as well.
Third on the team with 304 kills, Nelson spent last season adjusting to the speed and level of play of the college game, and even learned the middle blocker position while she red-shirted.
She started playing organized volleyball as a high school sophomore, so she was still new to the game in comparison to others at the major college level. It's taken some time to adjust, but she has.
"This year has definitely been different," says Nelson. "I've never really played at such a competitive level my whole life."
Hopewell coach Rhonda Auman has watched Nelson's progress closely since her high school graduation, and even took this year's Hopewell team to Chapel Hill to watch Nelson in person. Auman has noticed a significant improvement in Nelson this year.
"She's just so much more confident, so sure of herself," says Auman. "You can just see her beaming with confidence. Her game has risen to a whole different level."
Van Noy, who has 102 kills, entertained some other recruiting offers, but ultimately decided to attend her mother's alma mater, even if that meant having to play volleyball as a walk-on.
"Nothing felt quite as home as Carolina," says Van Noy.
College walk-ons, invited or otherwise, have to prove themselves. The coaches don't have scholarship money invested in them, and often walk-ons find themselves left out of a team's plans. But Van Noy was confident she could play and set out to prove herself. When she got the chance to start, she made the most of it.
"It's been a lot of fun, a lot of learning, probably one of the best experiences of my life," says Van Noy.
Hough High coach Sandi Skidmore, who coached Van Noy for three years at North Meck, says she is among the most competitive players out there.
"If she wants a spot, she's going to go after it," says Skidmore. "I think playing with that caliber of players only made her better and more competitive. She wanted to play college volleyball. She didn't want to sit."
Skidmore and Auman say they have enjoyed watching the two local products star alongside one another.
"To have two local girls on the same team, that's rare," says Auman. "That never happens, especially at that level. I think it's awesome. I'm happy for both of them."
The Tar Heels were to open postseason play Thursday against California in Malibu. With a win, Carolina would play either host Pepperdine or Missouri State in Friday's second round, where a berth in the Honolulu Regional is on the line.
"We're only looking to go up from here," says Van Noy.
