Virginia Welcomes Boston College, Syracuse for Weekend Tilts
Watch vs. BC | Watch vs. Syracuse | Live Stats | Game Notes
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia volleyball (4-10, 0-4 ACC) closes a four-match homestand by hosting Boston College (12-4, 2-2 ACC) and Syracuse (8-4, 4-0 ACC) for a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference clashes this weekend. The Boston College match is set for a 7 p.m. first serve on Friday (Oct. 5) while the Cavaliers and Orange will meet on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 1 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
Both matches will air on ACC Network Extra, which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Fans can also get in-game updates on the match’s live stats feed on VirginiaSports.com and on volleyball’s official twitter feed (@UVAVolleyball).
PROMOTIONS
The first 150 fans at Friday night’s match versus Boston College will receive a free Virginia tumbler. Sunday’s match is Camper Reunion Day, featuring postgame autographs and a free concession item with voucher for all returning volleyball campers.
VIRGINIA VS. BOSTON COLLEGE
• Virginia and Boston College meet for the 22nd time with the Cavaliers holding a 17-4 lead in the all-time series.
• Virginia’s .809 winning percentage against the Eagles is the Cavaliers’ best against any ACC foe.
• In the 2017 meeting, the Cavaliers rolled to a 21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-13 victory in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Virginia dominated the match defensively with 15 blocks.
VIRGINIA VS. SYRACUSE
• In another relatively new series, the Cavaliers and Orange clash for the 11th time on Sunday. Syracuse holds a 7-3 edge in the series.
• Virginia has not beaten Syracuse since the Orange joined the ACC.
• In last season’s clash, Syracuse earned a 25-17, 25-19, 25-21 sweep.
• Sunday is only the second meeting in Charlottesville since 2013. Three of the last four have been played at Syracuse.
NOTING THE HOOS
• Two Cavaliers rank in the top 10 of the ACC in blocks per set during conference matches. Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) is third at 1.69 blocks per set, while Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) is seventh at 1.46.
• Virginia is fifth as a team in blocking through two weeks of ACC matches with a 2.77 blocks per set average.
• Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) returned to form with 14 kills in each of last weekend’s matches.
• Grace Turner (Cincinnati, Ohio) is coming off a career-best 14 digs against Miami.
NOTING BOSTON COLLEGE
• The Eagles enter the weekend after dropping both their ACC matches last week to Duke and Wake Forest.
• Cat Balido leads BC with 149 kills (2.66 k/s). She had 16 at Wake Forest on Sunday.
• Boston College is among the nation’s best in blocking, ranking 38th with 2.54 rejections per set.
• Opponents have hit just .153 against the Eagles, the 16th-best mark in the country.
• Libero Makenzie Morrison ranks third in the ACC with 4.53 digs per set.
NOTING SYRACUSE
• The Orange are 8-4 on the season, but three of those four losses have come to top 25 opponents.
• Freshman Polina Shemanova leads Syracuse and the ACC with 4.28 kills per set. She ranks 28th in the country.
• The Orange lead the ACC and rank eighth in the country in blocks per set with 2.93 on average.
• Amber Witherspoon leads the block with 1.40 per set, the 23rd best mark in the country.
• Santita Ebangwese is 14th nationally with a .409 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
Virginia hits the road to take on North Carolina State and North Carolina next weekend. The matchup against the Wolfpack will be televised on ESPNU.