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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team concludes a four-match road swing with matches at North Carolina and NC State this weekend. The Cavaliers will face the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C., at 7 p.m. Friday, before heading to Raleigh, N.C., for a match with the Wolfpack at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Livestats will be available for both matches on VirginiaSports.com, while Friday’s match at UNC will be broadcast on ACC Select. For complete details, visit www.ACCSelect.com.
Virginia (10-7, 2-3 ACC) brings a two-match win streak into the weekend, as the Cavaliers defeated Boston College and Maryland for their first conference wins last weekend.
Third-year Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas) still paces the offense with 203 kills and was named the ACC Player of the Week after registering consecutive double-doubles in Virginia’s weekend wins. Dickson knocked down 10 kills and collected 12 digs in a 3-0 sweep of Boston College, before tallying 15 kills and tying a career-high 21 digs in a four-set win over Maryland.
Third-year Brittani Rendina (Lisle, Ill.) heads the defense this season, collecting 219 digs, while second-year Sydney Hill (Kalamazoo, Mich.) has blocked 70 attacks. The duo of fourth-year Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville, Minn.) and second-year Kelly Irvin (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) continue to set up the offense. Bruneau has distributed 411 assists, while Irvin has 167.
North Carolina (8-7, 2-2 ACC) enters the weekend on a two-match losing skid. The Tar Heels had won four-straight prior to dropping contests at Duke and Wake Forest over the weekend. Lauren Prussing leads the attack with 109 kills, while Heather Brooks is hitting a team-high .327. Stephanie Jansma is setting up the offense with 433 assists on the year.
Defensively, Brianna Eskola has collected 231 digs, while Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland and Brooks have 57 and 52 blocks, respectively. Hanson-Tuntland leads the team with 12 solo blocks.
In the Cavaliers’ series record with the Tar Heels, North Carolina leads, 33-13. The two teams have played each other at least once a year since 1980. UNC dominated the series for the first 10 years, with a record of 11-1 in that span. Carolina then won 11 straight matches from 1998-2002, with the Tar Heels ranked nationally in four of those contests. The past two seasons, the Cavaliers have won three of the four meetings.
NC State (8-11, 2-2 ACC) is off to its best start since 2000, having won six of its last nine matches, however the Wolfpack dropped their most recent contest. State split its weekend competition, defeating Wake Forest, 3-1, on the road before falling at Duke, 3-0.
Aiwane Iboaya was named the ACC Player of the Week on Sept. 29, after the Pack defeated Boston College and Maryland. Iboaya is hitting a team-best .315, while Arlee Tamietti has landed a team-high 198 kills. Setter Alex Smith has distributed 555 assists and four players have landed double-digit aces, led by Tamietti’s 16.
Leading the defense is Kelly Wood and Iboaya. Wood has dug 259 attacks, while Iboaya has blocked 63.
Against the Wolfpack, Virginia is 31-19 all-time. NC State won the first five meetings, with the Cavaliers defeating the Pack for the first time in 1985. Throughout the first 15 years of competition, State led the series 19-6, however in the past 11 years, the Cavaliers have won all 25 meetings.
Virginia will return to Memorial Gymnasium following the weekend action. Virginia will play host to Duke on Fri., Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., before facing Wake Forest on Sun., Oct. 19 at noon.