Nov. 21, 2002

ATLANTA--No. 12 North Carolina begins its quest for a fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and an ACC record 10th overall championship this weekend on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

The Tar Heels (28-2) won the regular season conference championship with a 15-1 record to earn the top seed. Carolina will play Friday at 1:30 p.m. against an opponent that will be determined Thursday night at 7:30 in a match between eighth-seeded Virginia and ninth-seeded NC State.

All of the ACC Tournament action can be followed via Live Stats on www.theacc.com, with Sunday's championship match to be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net South, Sunshine Network and Comcast SportsNet.

Carolina had a 4-0 record vs. the prospective opponents in and only dropped one game in four regular season meetings. The Tar Heels have an 8-1 combined record in the ACC Tournament vs. the Cavaliers and the Wolfpack, with the only loss coming to NC State in the finals of the 1984 tournament.

This season's ACC Coach of the Year Joe Sagula will look to tie former UNC head coach Beth Miller for second all time with four conference championships. Leading his team on the court will be the 2002 ACC Player of the Year Laura Greene, ACC First-Team setter Eve Rackham and ACC Second Team outside hitter Molly Pyles.

Last year's ACC Tournament MVP Malaika Underwood returns along with three other seniors - Greene, Rackham and middle hitter Holly Strauss - to seek the fourth ACC Championship of their careers.