Virginia Travels To Face Miami, Florida State This Weekend
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team will look to build off its first ACC win of the season in the Marriott Cavalier Invitational, visiting Miami and Florida State this weekend. The Cavaliers will face the Hurricanes on Friday at 7 p.m., before meeting the Seminoles on Sunday at noon. Live statistics will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
The Cavaliers put up a solid fight and came out with their first ACC win in Memorial Gymnasium this season, a four-set victory over in-state rival Virginia Tech on Friday. Sophomore Simone Asque (Chicago, Ill.) led all players with 16 kills against the Hokies and junior AJ Cushman (Richmond, Va.) collected 19 digs in the win.
Virginia (6-6, 1-0 ACC) is led this season by senior Lauren Dickson’s (Austin, Texas) 149 kills and Cushman’s 153 digs. Freshman Jessica O’Shoney (Hutto, Texas) has accumulated 29 blocks and freshman Rachel Gray (Shawnee, Kansas) has dished out 379 assists.
Miami enters the weekend coming off an 0-2 showing in the Seminole Tri-Match, falling to No. 18 Florida State and Notre Dame. With an overall record of 7-4 and an 0-1 mark in conference play, the Hurricanes lead the ACC in digs per set with 15.23. Cassie Loessberg leads the team defensively, tallying 216 digs and Lane Carrico has recorded 119 in the category. Carico heads the offense with 138 kills and Katie Gallagher has recorded a team-high 299 assists.
Virginia leads the all-time series against Miami, 6-3. The Cavaliers and Hurricanes first met in 2004, with Miami sweeping the season series. Virginia responded winning the next four-straight matches. The Cavaliers took the only meeting of the 2008 season, 3-2, in Charlottesville.
Florida State comes into the weekend leading the conference, boasting a No. 18 ranking nationally. The Seminoles have won their last eight contests, en route to an overall record of 10-1 and 1-0 in the league. Brianna Barry leads the ACC with a .517 attack percentage. Mira Djuric leads the squad with 107 kills, while Nikki Baker paces the offense with 241 assists.
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 four years, going 5-3. Last season, the Seminoles took the lone meeting, 3-0.
Up next, the Cavaliers will head to North Carolina for a Friday (Oct. 2) night match against Duke at 7 p.m. and a Saturday (Oct. 3) evening match at Wake Forest (7 p.m.).