@CanesVB Hits the Road for ACC Finale
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team hits the road for its final two matches of the 2014 regular season.
The Hurricanes (20-7, 13-3 ACC) travel to Georgia Tech and No. 8 Florida State this week, facing the Yellow Jackets at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and closing out the season against the Seminoles at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Miami hits the road after closing out its home schedule last weekend with victories over Syracuse and Boston College. The Canes finished the 2014 season with a 13-1 record at the James L. Knight Sports Complex.
While Miami has earned 20 wins through a team effort, senior captains Savanah Leaf and Emani Sims lead the way for Hurricanes.
Leaf is one of the top players in the country, ranking 11th in the nation and atop the ACC with 4.61 kills/set. The three-time ACC Player of the Week leads the Hurricanes with 11 double-doubles on the season and posted a record 30 kills in her last match against Florida State.
Sims is another vital cog for the Hurricanes, ranking fourth in the ACC and 31st in the country with a .382 attack percentage. Sims, who leads Miami with 126 blocks, is a force at the net from her middle blocker position.
Freshman Haley Templeton has been a key contributor for Miami all season. The setter ranks second in the ACC with 10.93 assists/set and is just 38 assists away from recording the 10th 1,000-assist season in program history. Templeton is also deadly with her serve, tallying a team-best 26 service aces on the season.
Junior Taylor Scott and sophomore Kelsie Groot are versatile players who contribute in a variety of ways for the Hurricanes. Scott ranks second on the team in kills (207) and digs (234), while Groot leads the Canes with 244 digs and ranks second in service aces (25) and third in kills (205).
Freshmen Sakile Simmons and Sylvia Hernandez complete Miami’s projected starters and the newcomers bring different things to the floor. Simmons is an active blocker from the middle, recording 100 blocks on the season, while Hernandez had been a strong player in Miami’s back row since taking over as the starting defensive specialist in late October.
Miami also features a talented bench that includes freshmen Brooke McDermott and Michele Marenus, as well as senior Blair Fuentez and juniors Kalysta White and Caitilin Donahoe. The quintet of reserves gives head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara a variety of options against the Yellow Jackets and Seminoles.
The Hurricanes, who rank 28th in the latest edition of the NCAA women’s volleyball RPI, head into the final weekend of the regular season on a six-match win streak and are 12-2 since the beginning of October.
For all the latest information on Miami Hurricanes volleyball, follow the official Twitter feed, @CanesVB, or “Like Us” on Facebook at facebook.com/UMVolleyball. The program is also on Instagram.
