@CanesVB Hosting North Carolina and NC State
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team returns to its home gym this weekend for matches against No. 12 North Carolina and NC State.
The Hurricanes, who are in the midst of a three-match winning streak, will host North Carolina at 7 p.m., on Friday and welcome NC State for a 1 p.m., match on Sunday. Both matches, which will be played during Miami’s Homecoming Week, will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
The Hurricanes are led by one of the top players in the country in Olga Strantzali. The junior outside hitter enters the weekend fresh off a career-high 30 kills in a victory at Louisville, which ties for second-most in a single match in UM history.
Strantzali is the ACC leader with 4.67 kills per set – a number that rates 10th in the NCAA – and is second in the conference with 0.39 service aces per set. With 975 kills in her career, she sits just 25 away from recording her 1,000th collegiate kill.
Anna Haak is another dangerous attacker for Miami, ranking second on the team with 261 kills and coming off consecutive 19-kill performances that set a new career best. Kolby Bird is another gifted hitter for Miami, ranking second on the team with a .231 hitting percentage and third with 152 kills. The sophomore is also a talented blocker, ranking third on the Canes with 54 blocks.
Middle blockers Lucia Pampana and Sakile Simmons help Miami’s presence at the net. Pampana leads the team with a .305 attack percentage and 81 total blocks, while Simmons ranks second on the Hurricanes with 61 total blocks.
Freshman Hannah Sorensen enters this weekend ranked fourth in the ACC with 10.54 assists per set and fresh off a pair of impressive performances on the road. The setter dished out a career-high 64 assists to tie for second-most in a single match in program history. Two days later, Sorensen had 61 assists in a five-set win at Louisville.
Sylvia Hernandez leads the Canes in digs with 310 on the year and ranks tied for second with 14 service aces. The junior libero set a new career-high with 31 digs in a win at Notre Dame last Friday and tallied 23 digs two days later at Louisville.
Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara has a bevy of talented options available in addition to the projected starters, including defensive specialist Sara Duque. The freshman had a career-best 12 digs in Sunday’s win at Louisville and she is joined by fellow freshmen Madison Dill and Carly Davey, as well as sophomore Codi Lee and juniors Haley Templeton, Brooke McDermott and Alyssa Basdavanos as players that have contributed this season.
Following this weekend’s matches, the Hurricanes hit the road for a pair of road matches in the northeast. Miami will play at Syracuse at 7 p.m., on Nov. 11 and will take on Boston College at noon on Nov. 13.
All Hurricanes volleyball home matches are played at the James L. Knight Sports Complex on the University of Miami campus. Admission is free. For a complete look at the Hurricanes’ 2016 schedule, click here.
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.
