Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team looks to build off a successful weekend at Memorial Gymnasium, hosting Miami and Florida State this weekend. The Cavaliers will face the Hurricanes on Friday, before meeting the Seminoles on Saturday. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. with live stats available on VirginiaSports.com. The match against Florida State will be broadcast on ACC Select.
Despite dropping a five-set affair to Duke Friday night, the Cavaliers put up a solid fight and rebounded with their first ACC win in Mem Gym this season, a four-set victory over Wake Forest on Sunday. First-year Simone Asque (Chicago, Ill.) led the attack with a career-high 21 kills against Wake Forest and third-year Brittani Rendina (Lisle, Ill.) collected a career-high 38 digs in the loss to Duke.
Virginia (12-9, 4-5 ACC) is led this season by third-year Lauren Dickson’s (Austin, Texas) 242 kills and Rendina’s 324 digs. Second-year Sydney Hill has accumulated 89 blocks and fourth-year Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville, Minn.) has dished out 499 assists.
Miami enters the weekend tied for first in the league. Boasting an overall record of 19-2 and a 7-2 mark in conference play, the Hurricanes have won 18 of their last 21 sets. Falling only on the road to Wake Forest and Clemson, Miami is coming off victories at North Carolina and NC State, with Lane Carico earning the most recent ACC Player of the Week honor.
The Hurricanes lead the ACC in service aces landed per set at 1.82, with five players already reaching the 20-ace mark. Katie Gallagher’s 27 aces tops the team in the category, while she’s also distributed 738 assists. Carico heads the offense with 236 kills and Cassie Loessberg has dug a team-high 351 attacks.
Virginia leads the all-time series against Miami, 5-3. The Cavaliers and Hurricanes first met in 2004, with Miami sweeping the season series. Virginia responded winning the next four straight, but the squads split in last season’s action. Each team won its respective away match.
Florida State has bounced back from dropping four of its first five conference matches, and has won three of its last four en route to an overall record of 12-7 and 4-5 in the league. Brianna Barry leads the ACC with a .416 attack percentage, and ranks fifth in the conference with her team-best 3.34 kills per game. Jordana Price leads the squad with 180 kills and 79 blocks, while Ashlee Moon leads the ACC with 5.00 digs per game.
In a series that dates back to 1987, Florida State holds an overall 28-13 edge against the Cavaliers, thanks to winning 11 of the first 12 matches. Virginia has turned the tide in the past three years, going 5-2. Last season, the Cavaliers defeated FSU at home before falling on the road.
Up next for the Cavaliers, is road matches at Clemson and Georgia Tech next weekend. The Cavaliers fell to each team at home earlier this season.