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Cavaliers Head to No. 13 Florida State and Miami This Weekend
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team heads south this weekend for two tough ACC match-ups. The Cavaliers will face No. 13 Florida State on Friday at 7 p.m., before heading to Miami for a 1 p.m., contest with the Hurricanes on Sunday. Live statistics for both matches will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
The Cavaliers are 6-5 this year and are l0-1 in the ACC. Led by sophomore Jess O’Shoney, the Cavaliers are ranked second in the league in blocks per set, averaging 2.62. O’Shoney is ranked third in the ACC with a 1.27 block per game average.
O’Shoney is also ranked fifth in the league in hitting percentage, with a .398 clip, while junior Simone Asque is among the ACC leaders in two categories. Landing 3.95 kills and 0.44 aces per set, the outside hitter is currently second in both stats. Rounding out the Cavaliers in the conference rankings is senior AJ Cushman, who sits second in digs per set, earning 4.73.
Florida State brings a 9-1 overall record and 1-0 conference record into this weekend. Visnja Djurdjevic, who ranks fourth in the league in kills per set, averaging 3.43, leads the Seminoles, while Florida State also has a pair of blockers who are ranked among the league’s best. Sareea Freeman leads the team and is ranked eighth in the ACC with 1.12 blocks per set, while Lauren Young is ninth in the league with 1.11 per set.
As a team, Florida State leads the conference in efficiency, hitting .277 on the season, and the Seminoles are also second in kills, averaging 14.42 per set.
In the all-time series with Florida State, the Seminoles lead the way, 28-13. Florida State won 11 of the first 12 matches from 1987-95, but the Cavaliers rallied to post a 12-13 record against the Seminoles up until 2007. Since then, Florida State has been on a four-match win streak against Virginia.
Miami (10-2, 0-1 ACC) enters the weekend among the top two in four conference rankings. Leading the league in kills per set (14.47) and assists (13.42), the Hurricanes also sit second in hitting percentage (.275) and digs (16.04). Lane Carico leads the team in kills and is ranked sixth in the ACC with 3.33 per set, while Ali Becker is hitting .388 – good for sixth among conference players. Katie Gallagher controls the offense and is second in the league with 10.90 assists per set.
The Cavaliers hold the slight advantage in the short series history with the Hurricanes. First facing off in 2004, Virginia leads the way, 7-4. Despite dropping the first two matches, Virginia rallied to win the next four and six of the next seven, before splitting last season’s contests.
Following the weekend, Virginia will return home to host Georgia Tech and Clemson in Memorial Gymnasium. Opening serve with the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m., while the match against the Tigers is set for Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.