BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech volleyball team will play its final home match of the fall slate on Friday, hosting Wake Forest at 6 p.m. The Hokies look for their 12th win of the season as they take on the Demon Deacons.
THINGS TO KNOW
Scouting Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons take on Miami before making the trip to Blacksburg on Friday. Wake Forest currently has a 15-12 record with a 6-10 mark in ACC play. Last weekend at home, Wake went 2-0 with a 3-1 win over Virginia and a sweep of Boston College. Offensively, Kamryn Malloy and Ashley Slater lead the team, averaging 3.53 and 2.82 kills, respectively. Malloy is also averaging 4.11 points per set. Defensively, Delaney McSweeney has 97 blocks and over one block per set. Kalani Whillock has posted 381 digs with 4.01 digs per set. The assist leader for Wake Forest is Andrea Fuentes with 947.
Last time against the Demon Deacons
Virginia Tech fell to Wake Forest on Nov. 4, dropping the match in four sets 26-24, 15-25, 10-25, 15-25. The Demon Deacons moved to 13-11 on the year with a 4-9 record in conference play. Virginia Tech fell to 10-15 on the season. The Hokies jumped out to a quick start in the first set, tying the match up at 14-14 and taking their biggest lead at 20-17. From there, the Demon Deacons tied the match up at 24-24 but a kill from Brie Postema and Cera Powell ended the set in the Hokies favor for a 1-0 lead. It was all Wake Forest after the first set as the Deacs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second and third sets. The fourth set was a tighter battle as the two teams traded points until 9-9 when Wake went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-9 lead. The Demon Deacons would take the set and the match with a score of 25-15.
About a week ago
The Hokies split last weekend's matches, recording a 3-1 win over Boston College, followed by a 3-0 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday. A big part of Tech's victory over BC was the Hokie block, powered by Marisa Cerchio and Tasha Vipond. Vipond recorded 11 block assists and a solo block, while Cerchio had 10 block assists. The Hokies finished the match with 18 team blocks, just one away from their season-high set the last time these two teams squared off. Freshman Elayna Duprey held down the back line for the Hokies, recording a season and team-high 11 digs. Postema had 36 assists for the Hokies and also added three kills in her four sets played.
Hokie leaders
Griere Hughes currently leads the team offensively with 2.98 points per set and 257 kills. Cera Powell isn't far behind with 2.55 points per set, tallying 193 kills. As the setter, Brie Postema has a team-high 492 assists with 5.93 assists per set. On the block, Angel Robinson now has 100 total with 1.05 per set. Vipond has also played a big part in the Hokie block, averaging 1.16 per set. Logan Mosley leads team with 395 digs and is also third in the ACC in digs.