@CanesVB Travels to Wake Forest and Duke
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team hits the road for a pair of matches in North Carolina this weekend, traveling to Wake Forest and Duke.
The Hurricanes will face Wake Forest at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 and Duke at 1 p.m. on Oct. 11 in their third weekend of conference play. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Miami (9-5, 2-2 ACC) heads into this weekend’s road trip fresh off a pair of home victories against conference foes Georgia Tech and Clemson. The four-set win over Georgia Tech was powered by sophomore Olga Strantzali’s 18 kills, while a balanced attack that featured double-digit kills from Kelsie Groot and Taylor Scott helped Miami sweep Clemson in three sets.
Strantzali, Groot and Scott have been instrumental in Miami’s attack all season. The trio leads the Canes in kills with Strantzali’s 188 ranking atop the team. The superb sophomore has also been outstanding with her powerful jump serve, leading the Hurricanes with 27 aces. Strantzali’s 0.48 services aces/set ranks second in the ACC and 20th in the country.
Groot has been a force for Miami, registering double-digit kills in 12 straight matches. The junior began her streak with a career-high 19 kills against Kansas State on August 29 and most recently recorded her fifth double-double of the season in Miami’s win over Georgia Tech.
Scott has also been instrumental to Miami’s success, recording five double-doubles on the year. The senior has been prolific on the attack, ranking third on the team with 148 kills. Scott has also proved to be successful with her serve, tallying 12 aces this season.
The Canes also have a talented group of middle blockers led by senior Alexis Mourning. The veteran ranks fourth in the ACC with a .391 hitting percentage and leads Miami in blocks with 55. Freshman Lucia Pampana and sophomore Sakile Simmons also have provided a boost in the middle with Pampana ranking second on the team with 36 blocks and Simmons bringing experience after playing in every match a year ago.
Miami’s offense is run by setter Haley Templeton. The sophomore ranks third in the ACC with 10.36 assists/set and has tallied 580 assists on the season. Templeton also features a dangerous serve, having recorded 14 aces on the year to rank second the Strantzali on the 2015 Hurricanes.
Senior Kalysta White rounds out Miami’s projected starters and the libero leads the Hurricanes with 201 digs on the season. An experienced player, White also has recorded 10 service aces this season to rank fourth on the team.
Senior setter Caitilin Donahoe and sophomores Brooke McDermott, Michele Marenus and Sylvia Hernandez join talented freshmen Anna Haak, Kolby Bird and Codi Lee as players who have contributed for the Hurricanes so far in 2015.
Following this weekend’s action at Wake Forest and Duke, Miami will return to face the other two North Carolina schools in the ACC. The Canes are scheduled to face NC State at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 and North Carolina at 1 p.m. on Oct. 18.
The Canes’ next home match is set for Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. against Boston College. That same weekend, Miami will host Syracuse on Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. All Miami home matches are played at the James L. Knight Sports Complex on the University of Miami campus and admission is free.
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.
