BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech volleyball team returns home to Cassell Coliseum Friday night, hosting No. 2 Louisville at 6 p.m. The Hokies then host Notre Dame on Sunday with first serve at 1 p.m.
THINGS TO KNOW
Scouting Louisville
The Cardinals come to Blacksburg on Friday with a perfect 16-0 record and a 6-0 clip in ACC play. Louisville has signature wins over then-No. 6 Nebraska 3-0 and then-No. 8 Kentucky 3-2, which was the only match this season that Louisville has gone all five sets. Most recently, Louisville swept Syracuse and Boston College. Nationally, Louisville is third in blocks per set and third in opponent hitting percentage, as well as fifth in team hitting percentage. Anna Stevenson and Anna DaBeer lead the team offensively in points with a respective 3.75 and 3.70 points per set. Defensively, Amaya Tillman is third in the ACC in blocks per set as she averages 1.55. As for digs, Eleena Scott leads the Cardinals with 212 digs on the season, 4.08 per set.
Scouting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish will take on Wake Forest on Friday before making the trip to Cassell on Sunday. Notre Dame had a 3-7 start to non-conference play but have since posted a 4-2 mark in ACC play making them 7-9 overall. The Irish have won their last four matches, including a win over #18 Georgia Tech and two sweeps against Syracuse and Boston College. The two ACC losses for Notre Dame come at the hands of Florida State (3-1) and Miami (3-0). Notre Dame's top players include Lauren Tarnoff, who leads the team in blocking with 1.13 blocks per set, as well as Lindsey Miller with 63 total blocks and 1.05 per set. Offensively, Charley Niego leads the team with 192 kills, 3.20 per set.
Hokie Rundown
Virginia Tech enters Friday's match against Louisville with a 9-9 record after falling to NC State and North Carolina last weekend. The Hokies look to repeat their 2019 win over then-No. 23 Louisville, recording a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals in Blacksburg. The win over Louisville was Tech's first win over the Cardinals since 1992 and first win over a ranked opponent since 2015. Leading the Hokies defensively, Logan Mosley is currently nine digs away from recording her 1,000th career dig, becoming the 19th Hokie in school history to do so.
ACC Stat Leaders
Mosley is currently leading the ACC in total digs with 292 and is third in the ACC in digs per set with 4.11. The junior libero also ranks 65th nationally in total digs. Senior Angel Robinson is fourth in total blocks with 74 and also sits at 55th nationally. Tasha Vipond has also had a hand in the Hokie block, recording 63 total. She is ranked 9th in the ACC.
UP NEXT
The Hokies continue their homestand next weekend, hosting Florida State on Friday, Oct. 22 and Miami on Sunday, Oct. 24. The match vs. Miami will be Virginia Tech's Dig Pink game, as October is breast cancer awareness month. To donate to the cause, visit vthoki.es/DigPink.
