Miami Volleyball Welcomes Virginia, Virginia Tech

Miami Volleyball Welcomes Virginia, Virginia Tech

Oct. 27, 2011

Miami vs. Virginia/Virginia Tech Notes in PDF FormatGet Acrobat Reader

 

Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team returns home this weekend for a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference matches inside the James L. Knight Sports Complex. The Hurricanes welcome Virginia (Oct. 28 – 7 p.m.) followed by Virginia Tech (Oct. 30 – 1 p.m.).

Miami (17-3, 8-3 ACC) saw its 11-match home win streak snapped at the hands of Georgia Tech in its last match inside the James L. Knight Sports Complex on Oct. 16. The Hurricanes are ready this weekend to host the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies.

The match against the Cavaliers on Friday, Oct. 28 will serve as the Hurricanes’ Dig Pink match in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. The match against the Hokies on Sunday, Oct. 30 will be televised regionally on Fox Sports – the second time this season the Canes will be on television. The match against UVa will be streamed live via Canes All-Access at HurricaneSports.com.

The Hurricanes come into the weekend after having their school record six-week presence in the AVCA Coaches Poll Top 25 broken despite winning both matches last weekend at Boston College and at Maryland. However, UMiami is still receiving votes, coming in this week at No. 27, respectively.

The Canes are led by senior middle blocker Ali Becker (Katy, Texas) who’s leading the ACC in hitting percentage with a .389 clip. Becker also has a team second-best 208 kills (2.93 k/s). Senior All-America outside hitter Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) leads the team and ranks in the top five in the league for kills with 243 (3.52 k/s). Carico also is among the top 10 in the ACC for digs with 293 (4.25 d/s).

Redshirt senior setter Katie Gallagher (Winter Park, Fla.) sets up the offense and leads the ACC with 786 assists (11.07 a/s). Sophomore right side Alex Johnson (Tallahassee, Fla.) is third on the squad in kills with 193 (2.72 k/s).

For more information on the University of Miami volleyball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes volleyball program.

Fans can keep up-to-date with all UM Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/HurricaneSports. You can also become a fan of the Canes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.

Match 21: MIAMI (17-3, 8-3 ACC) vs. Virginia (8-13, 2-9 ACC)
When: Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Where: Coral Gables, Fla. (James L. Knight Sports Complex)
Live Stats: Game Tracker on HurricaneSports.com
Live Internet Video: Free broadcast on Canes All-Access at HurricaneSports.com

SERIES INFO
All-Time Record: Virginia leads Miami, 8-6
Last Meeting: Miami won 3-0 on Sept. 25, 2011 in Charlottesville, Va.
Series Streak: Miami won the previous meeting between the schools this year, but the teams split last year’s series

SCOUTING VIRGINIA
Senior outside hitter Simone Asque is the playmaker for the Cavaliers, leading the way with a team-best 3.82 kills per set average – good enough for 71st in the NCAA. That also allows the senior outside hitter to rank third in the league for kills.

Meanwhile, junior middle blocker Jessica O’Shoney is second on the team with 2.84 kills per and her .361 hitting percentage ranks third in the league and 40th in the nation. She leads the team with 1.09 blocks per set, has a team-best 84 total blocks and leads the squad with 17 service aces on the season.

Match 22: MIAMI (17-3, 8-3 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech (13-9, 6-5 ACC)
When: Sunday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Where: Coral Gables, Fla. (James L. Knight Sports Complex)
Live Stats: Game Tracker on HurricaneSports.com
Live Internet Video: Free broadcast on Canes All-Access at HurricaneSports.com

SERIES INFO
All-Time Record: Miami leads Virginia Tech, 12-5
Last Meeting: Miami won 3-0 on Sept. 23, 2011 in Blacksburg, Va.
Series Streak: Miami won the previous meeting this year and has won the last seven meetings overall

SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech comes to the Sunshine State sporting a record of 13-9 overall and 6-5 in the ACC. The Hokies are led by five players with 150-plus kills, sparked by outside hitter Cara Baarendse (227 total / 2.64 per set). Behind her is Justine Record with 189 kills (2.36 k/s).

Setter Erin Leaser sets up the offense with 557 assists (6.48 a/s), while Morgan O’Neill (344 digs / 4.05 per set) and Record (257 digs / 3.21 per set) control the defense. The middle is patrolled by Victoria Hamsher with a team-leading 107 blocks (1.24 b/s) followed by Baarendse with 64 blocks (0.74 b/s).

Dig Pink
Once again, the University of Miami is showing its support for Breast Cancer Awareness with its annual “Dig Pink” match when they wear pink and shows their support. Fans are encouraged to do the same and share funds through the Hurricanes fundraising drive supporting the cause with numerous schools around the country.

Lane Carico Named a Finalist for Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
Lane Carico of the University of Miami has been selected as one of 10 finalists for this year’s Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Miami on the National Stage
When the Hurricanes host Virginia Tech on Sunday, Oct. 30, it will mark the first home televised contest for UMiami since 2007. The Hurricanes versus Hokies will be shown live regionally on Fox Sports. Check your local cable/satellite affiliate for channel information.

Join the Discussion
One of the new features to the UMiami volleyball match day experience this season is a live chat through Cover It Live, where fans can interact with members of the Hurricanes’ Athletic Communications Office and other fans, getting an in-depth look at the action and analysis of the games. Join the discussion at HurricaneSports.com.

Hurricanes on the Net
University of Miami volleyball matches this season will be broadcast live on HurricaneSports.com with video webcasts for every home match, courtesy of Hurricanes All-Access. All home matches will feature a live audio broadcast through WVUM–the student voice of all things UMiami.

Live Stats
Live stats for all home matches and most road games will be available on HurricaneSports.com to both media and fans. Click the Game Tracker logo on the website to see play-by-play, player/team stats and much more.