BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech volleyball team continues its homestand on Friday afternoon, taking on Boston College for the second time this season. First serve is set for 2 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies then make the trip to South Bend on Sunday for a Noon match against Notre Dame.
THINGS TO KNOW
Scouting Boston College
The Eagles enter Friday's contest with a 15-14 overall record and a 5-10 mark in ACC play. Most recently, BC had a single game weekend with a 3-1 win over the Duke Blue Devils. The previous weekend, the Eagles fell to No. 3 Pitt 3-0 but defeated Virginia 3-1. Offensively, Claire Naughton leads the team with 3.34 kills per set and 3.72 points per set. Amaka Chukwujekwu has 219 kills on the season and sits at eighth in the ACC in hitting percentage with a .335. Setters Penn Grace and Sophia Lambros are the leaders in assists, as Grace has posted 498 and Lambros adds 402, both averaging over four assists per set. Defensively, Anna Murphy leads the Eagles in digs with 409 and 3.93 per set. She is ranked first in the conference in digs as well as fifth in digs per set.
Scouting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish only have one match this weekend with the Hokies making the trip to South Bend for a Noon first serve. Last weekend, Notre Dame defeated N.C. State 3-0 but fell to No. 1 Louisville 3-0. Both matches were played in South Bend. Charley Niego and Aubrey Hamilton lead the Irish attack as Niego has a team-high 272 kills and 3.02 kills per set. Hamilton is averaging 2.97 kills per set with 276 total kills. Lauren Tarnoff is leading the Irish with a .329 hitting percentage. At the net, Notre Dame has 237.5 blocks compared to only 194 by opponents. Lindsey Miller plays a big role in the block with 99 total and 1.06 per set. Tarnoff is leading the team with 1.37 blocks per set.
At the net
The last time the Hokies took on the Eagles, Tech went off for a season-high 19 blocks, just three away from the school record set in 2001. Marisa Cerchio had seven block assists on the night and Angel Robinson added a block solo with seven block assists. The Hokies are currently ranked 73rd nationally in total team blocks with 229.5, and are seventh in the ACC.
Hokie leaders
The Hokies are currently leading its opponents with 229.5 blocks, compared to only 166.5 allowed by opponents, good for an average of 2.3 blocks per set vs. a 1.8 by the other teams faced. Leading the Hokies in points per set is Griere Hughes, averaging 3.02 so far this season, the only Hokie averaging over three points per set. Brie Postema has taken over as the assist leader for the Hokies with 430 total. She is averaging 5.66 assists per set.
UP NEXT
The Hokies end the season next Friday, Nov. 26 as they host Wake Forest with a 6 p.m. first serve.
