BLACKSBURG – Hosting ACC foes for the second consecutive weekend, Virginia Tech's volleyball team will take on two of the conference's North Carolina schools in North Carolina and NC State.
Tech will play against North Carolina (5-7, 1-2 ACC) on Friday at 6 p.m. ET, and will be back at it on Sunday versus NC State (7-6, 1-2 ACC) at 1 p.m. at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, with Evan Hughes and Billy Parvatam on the call on Friday and Bailey Angle and Jake Lawrence on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the Tar Heels and Wolfpack played in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and saw UNC come out on top, 3-1, for the lone midweek title in league play. Tech leads the all-time series against the Pack 21-13, but is 5-26 against the Tar Heels. Both teams defeated the Hokies last year in four sets.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Fri. | 6 p.m. ET vs. North Carolina | Stats | Broadcast
Sun. | 1 p.m. ET vs. NC State | Stats | Broadcast
Going 1-1 this past weekend in Blacksburg, Tech fell to No. 8 Pitt 3-0 last Friday and turned back around on Sunday to defeat in-state rival Virginia in straight sets to gain half a point in the Commonwealth Clash.
Right-side hitter Jaila Tolbert posted a team-high 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage while having four blocks against the Cavaliers. Outside hitter Kaity Smith collected 11 kills and digs with a block, marking the 10th double-double of her young career.
Setter Rhegan Mitchell distributed 42 assists in just three sets, averaging 14.0 assists per set, her highest clip of the season. It marked her fourth match this year of 40-plus assists.
SENIOR PROJECT
The two seniors on Tech's team, Mitchell and Tolbert, have partnered with the Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley for their senior project. The project entails fans coming to home volleyball matches and bringing items to help support these families who are going through domestic violence at the marketing table. For more info on the project and what items to bring, click here.
FAN INFO
Friday against the Tar Heels is "Student Appreciation Night" with the first 100 students being able to get a free HokieBird T-shirt as well as "Rec Sports Night" when there will be postmatch volleyball rec matches on Carilion Clinic Court after the UNC-VT match. Sunday afternoon versus the Wolfpack is "Scout Day", "Hokie All-Stars" and "Kids Day" with face painters, balloon twisters and games.
Virginia Tech Athletics is implementing a clear-bag policy at all of its games this academic year. The policy will allow for a better and quicker experience at gates and is also a public safety measure that is being successfully implemented at other large venues including fellow ACC venues. For more info, click here.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
• North Carolina (5-7, 1-2 ACC) is coming off a 3-1 win over NC State on Wednesday and a 0-2 weekend, losing its ACC home opener on Friday to Notre Dame and falling again on Sunday to [RV] Louisville.
• With wins over Elon, Oklahoma, Maryland Eastern Shore and UNCG, the Tar Heels concluded their nonconference play 4-7 (.367), earning one more victory than last year's mark of 3-5 (.375). Facing a tough schedule, UNC took on three ranked opponents in No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 6 Minnesota and No. 23 Colorado.
• Head Coach Joe Sagula, the most winningest coach in ACC and program history, enters his 29th year in Chapel Hill and owns an overall record of 596-330 at UNC. He has led the Tar Heels to seven ACC Championships, winning most recently in 2016. Tech's Head Coach Jill Wilson worked under Sagula for four years as an assistant coach.
• Outside hitter Destiny Cox leads the way for the Tar Heels, owning a team-high 3.65 kills per set to rank seventh in the ACC. Setter Hunter Atherton is eighth in the league for assists per set with an average of 9.19.
SCOUTING NC STATE
• NC State (7-6, 1-2 ACC) is entering this weekend's matchup after a 3-1 loss in Chapel Hill to the Tar Heels on Wednesday and a 1-1 weekend tally when it hosted two ACC contests. The Wolfpack defeated Notre Dame 3-1 on Sunday, rebounding from their ACC home-opening loss on Friday to [RV] Louisville.
• The Wolfpack have defeated mutual opponents with Tech in VCU and Campbell, recording both victories at home, with tallies of 3-2 over the Rams and 3-0 over the Camels. NC State is 0-4 versus ranked opponents and opponents receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25, falling to No. 22 Washington State, No. 10 Creighton, [then-RV] Georgia and [RV] Louisville.
• Head Coach Linda Hampton-Keith enters her third year in Raleigh, owning a career record of 48-30 in her first collegiate head coaching job. Hampton-Keith guided the Pack to a program-record 15 conference victories in 2017, as well as their first NCAA Tournament win.
• Dishing out the second-best assists per set average in the ACC, setter Kylie Pickrell runs the Pack offense with a 10.73 mark. Libero Makenzie Kuchmaner sets the tone on defense for State, scooping up 4.83 digs per set to rank second in the conference.
