Virginia Hosts Duke on Friday, North Carolina on Sunday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After a weekend on the road, the Virginia volleyball team (14-3, 4-2 ACC) returns to Memorial Gymnasium this weekend to host ACC opponents Duke (7-10, 3-3 ACC) on Friday (Oct. 18) at 7 p.m. and North Carolina (13-2, 5-1 ACC) on Sunday (Oct. 20) at 1 p.m.

All fans attending the Friday night’s match against Duke will receive free Ben & Jerry’s before the first serve.

Match Information

Matchup: Virginia (14-3, 4-2 ACC) vs Duke (7-10, 3-3 ACC)
Date/Time: Friday, Oct. 18 • 7 p.m.
Location: Memorial Gymnasium (Charlottesville, Va.)
Watch: ACCNX
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

Matchup: Virginia (14-3, 4-2 ACC) vs North Carolina (13-2, 5-1 ACC)
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 20 • 1 p.m.
Location: Memorial Gymnasium (Charlottesville, Va.)
Watch: ACCNX
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

SEASON OVERVIEW

• This year marks the 46th season of Virginia Volleyball, which held its inaugural season in 1979.
• In 45 complete seasons, UVA is 681-767 (.470) all-time.
• The Cavaliers have eight home matches remaining this season, starting Oct. 18 against Duke.
• Head coach Shannon Wells is in her fourth season at the helm.

SERIES HISTORY

• Duke has won 12 straight matches over Virginia and leads the series, 60-14. The Cavaliers’ most recent win in the series was in 2015, when they beat the Blue Devils in four sets. Clemson took the only 2023 match, 3-0 (23-25, 27-29, 14-25).
• North Carolina has the all-time series advantage over Virginia with a record of 55-16. The Tar Heels took the 2023 meeting in three sets (21-25,18-25,23-25). The last time the Cavaliers defeated the Tar Heels was in 2021 when Virginia won in four sets (25-17,15-25,26-24,25-21).
• For a complete list of series results, visit the Virginia Volleyball Record Book.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cavaliers stayed hot in the weekend opener by sweeping Clemson before losing in three sets to No. 20 Georgia Tech.
• In the match with the Tigers, Elayna Duprey (12 kills) and Kate Dean (11 kills, 0 errors, .733 Hit%, 6 blocks) led the Virginia attack while Zoey Dood tied her season high with two aces in the Cavaliers’ third-straight ACC sweep. Dean’s .773 .733 hitting percentage tied for the fourth-highest hitting percentage by a Cavalier during a three-set match in program history.
• In the Sunday matinee match against Georgia Tech, the Cavaliers were again led by Duprey with 10 kills. Abby Tadder added nine more kills and had a match-high four blocks in the contest.

 HOT START

• Virginia is 14-3 (or better) for the first time since 2003, when it won its first 16 matches of the season.
• UVA is off to its first 4-2 start in ACC play since 2006.
• The Georgia Tech match snapped at three-match ACC win streak for the Cavaliers, which was the longest of its kind for Virginia since 2014.

 VIRGINIA WELCOMES SEVEN NEWCOMERS IN 2024

• Of UVA’s 16 players on its 2024 roster, seven of them are new to the program.
• The Cavaliers’ roster features three transfers Kadynce Boothe (OH) from Tennessee, Kate Dean (MB) from Eastern Illinois and Elayna Duprey (OH) from Virginia Tech.
• Virginia’s freshmen, who made up the nation’s No. 26 signing class of 2023 according to PrepDig.com, consist of Sarah Brodner (OH/RS), Zoey Dood (S), Teagan Hogan (DS/L) and Becca Wight (RS).

HOOS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

• As a team, Virginia ranks top 100 in a number of categories nationally including opponent hitting percentage (.168/36th), blocks per set (2.41/70th) and team total blocks (154.5/73rd).
• Abby Tadder, Milan Gomillion and Kate Dean lead the way in the individual rankings. Tadder ranks 89th in the country averaging 1.19 blocks per set and 87th nationally in total blocks with 74. Gomillion’s 284 digs on the season place her 72nd nationally and her digs per set mark of 4.44 also ranks her 60th in the country. Following her stellar weekend against Clemson and Georgia Tech, Kate Dean ranks 45th in the country with a .377 hitting percentage.