BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech volleyball team faces Florida State at Cassell Coliseum this Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a match against Miami this Sunday at 1 p.m.
Things To Know
Scouting Florida State
With a 12-5 overall record and a 5-3 conference record, the Seminoles head to Blacksburg for Friday's match. Most recently, Florida State hosted Virginia and, No. 4, Pittsburgh, defeating Virginia 3-0 and falling to Pitt 3-1. The Seminoles have five players with over 100 kills, as Morgan Chacon leads the way with 164. As the setter, Lily Tessier has over 600 assists so far, averaging 9.92 assists per set and posting 43 kills on the year. Defensively, libero Emery Dupes has 227 digs in her 61 sets played, with 2.36 digs per set. Louis also leads the team in blocks with 70 total. Florida State is leading the ACC with an average of 16.21 digs per set and leading opponents with a .238 hitting percentage, compared to a .193 recorded by opponents.
Scouting Miami
Miami takes on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem Friday evening before making the trip to Blacksburg to face the Hokies on Sunday. The Hurricanes had their best 15-game start since 2017 and have swept four ACC opponents including Virginia, Duke, NC State, and Notre Dame. Most recently, Miami fell to Pitt 3-1 on Friday and defeated Virginia 3-0 on Sunday. Miami is a strong defensive team in the ACC, posting 15.49 digs per set, sitting in second behind Florida State. Priscilla Hernandez plays a big role in the defensive effort with 253 digs on the year, good for 4.148 digs per set. Angela Grieve is the point leader for Miami, posting 245.5 points with 216 kills, both a team high. At the net, Janice Leao has 59 total blocks with 0.96 per set.
Dig Pink Match
Sunday's match vs. Miami is the Dig Pink Match for the Hokies, who have partnered with the Side-Out Foundation to help raise awareness for breast cancer. Sophomore Mara Perry's grandmother is a breast cancer survivor and will be doing the honorary first serve to open the match. The Hokies have been raising money to continue the efforts in finding a cure for cancer. Funds raised for Side-Out go toward research specifically for patients with metastatic breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease, and the least funded area of research. To donate to the cause, visit vthoki.es/DigPink.
1,000 Kills
Senior Marisa Cerchio is 68 kills away from reaching 1,000 kills over her Virginia Tech career. Cerchio would be the 17th player in school history to reach the milestone, with the most recent Hokie being Kaity Smith who recorded 1,122 from 2017-20. She has been a mainstay in the Hokie lineup since arriving on campus in 2017, playing in 437 sets over her five-year career. The right-side hitter had a standout junior campaign, recording 312 kills after playing in all 31 matches, a career high. She was averaging 2.62 kills per set and hit .218 on the season.
Milestone Achieved
Logan Mosley recorded her 1,000th career dig in the match against Louisville, becoming the 19th Hokie in school history to do so. The Apex, N.C. native recorded her ninth and record-clinching dig late in the third set. She is the first Tech player to reach 1,000 career digs since Carol Rafferty did so in 2018. Mosley also holds the single-match dig record, achieving 39 digs in just her fifth match as a freshman. The junior also holds the single-season freshman digs record, tallying 507 as a rookie.
Up Next
The Hokies head to Charlottesville next Friday, Oct. 29 where they take on rival Virginia at 7 p.m. Virginia Tech continues the road trip to No. 4 Pitt on Sunday for a 1 p.m. first serve.
