BLACKSBURG – Leaving the fall temperature of Blacksburg for some mid-80s in the Sunshine State, the Virginia Tech volleyball team will hit the road to take on Miami (Fla.) and Florida State this weekend.
The Hokies (13-9, 4-6 ACC) will play Miami (12-6, 8-3 ACC) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will face Florida State (13-8, 9-3 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes and Seminoles played in Coral Gables, Florida and saw Miami come out on top, 3-2, for the lone midweek tilt in league play. Miami owns the all-time series advantage against Tech 19-7, while Florida State has the 32-4 advantage versus the Hokies.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Fri. | 7 p.m. ET vs. Miami | Stats | Broadcast
Sun. | 1 p.m. ET vs. Florida State | Stats | Broadcast
After being on the road for four ACC matches, the Hokies were back at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum this past weekend and went 1-1. Tech played in five sets in both matches, defeating Wake Forest 3-2 and falling to Duke 3-2.
Sophomore Ester Talamazzi had one of her best matches of the season against the Demon Deacons, racking up 13 kills and 20 digs. Libero Carol Raffety scooped up a season-high 26 digs, the third-most of her career.
Against the Blue Devils, three Hokies tallied double-doubles, including outside hitters Kaity Smith (17 kills, 15 digs) and Ester Talamazzi (14 kills, 17 digs) and setter Rhegan Mitchell (38 assists, 14 digs). It marked the first time in the Jill Wilson era that three players each had a double-double in the same match. Raffety again scooped up 20 digs and chipped in a season-high three aces.
The Hokies are No. 3 in the ACC for service aces per set with 1.48 and are No. 4 in opponent kills with a 11.95 mark. Sophomore Kaity Smith owns the ninth-best average for kills per set (3.51) in the league, as well as the ninth-best aces per set mark (0.30).
SCOUTING MIAMI
• Miami (12-6, 8-3 ACC) is coming off a 3-2 home win over in-state rival Florida State (13-8, 9-2 ACC) on Wednesday. Last weekend at home, the Hurricanes defeated Georgia Tech (13-10, 2-8 ACC), while falling to Clemson (11-12, 2-8 ACC) in straight sets.
• The 'Canes own a convincing 8-2 (.800) home record on the year, with six of those wins in conference play. In their only ranked matchup this season, Miami fell on the road to then No. 5 Pitt (22-0, 10-0 ACC) on Sept. 28.
• Head Coach Jose "Keno" Gandara enters his fifth year in Coral Gables and owns an overall record of 111-60 (.649) with the Hurricanes. Gandara has led the U to four NCAA Tournament appearances over his first five seasons, advancing most recently to the second round in 2017, concluding a 22-6 (.786) year.
• All-ACC redshirt senior Haley Templeton is No. 5 in the conference in average aces per set, owning a mark of .38, while also ranking fifth in the league in average assists per set with 10.26. Junior Bridget Wallenberger also ranks highly among conference foes, owning an average of 1.17 blocks per set, the eighth best in the league.
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE
• Florida State (13-8, 9-2 ACC) is entering this weekend's matchup after losing on the road to in-state rival Miami (12-6, 8-3 ACC) on Wednesday, snapping its six-match win streak. Last weekend, the Seminoles hosted two conference matchups, defeating both Georgia Tech (13-10, 2-8 ACC) and Clemson (11-12, 2-8 ACC).
• The 'Noles own an impressive 9-1 (.900) home record on the year, and rank third overall in the ACC standings. Amongst AVCA Top 25 teams, the Seminoles suffered losses at home versus No. 13 Florida (18-4, 9-1 SEC) on Sept. 12. and again on the road to No. 5 Pitt on Sept. 30.
• Head Coach Chris Poole enters his 11th season in Tallahassee and is the fifth winningest active head coach in Division I, with a record of 268-77 (.777) at FSU. Poole has guided the Seminoles to an ACC-record 185 conference wins, while leading them to nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Sophomore Taryn Knuth leads the league in average blocks per set (1.56), while also ranking tied for second in hitting percentage (.396). Junior Payton Caffrey also ranks second in both kills and points, averaging 4.14 kills per set and 4.73 points per set.
