Volleyball Readies For Challenging ACC Weekend
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team continues Atlantic Coast Conference action this weekend when it welcomes league leader NC State and defending champion North Carolina to the James L. Knight Sports Complex.
Last Friday, the Hurricanes (12-4, 6-4 ACC) began their weekend with an impressive 3-1 victory over Louisville, in which senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali recorded single-match school record of 33 kills. On Sunday Miami went into the intermission against Notre Dame with a two-set lead, but could not complete second-straight weekend sweep.
“It is definitely tough to lose at home, but we try to learn as much as we can from it and bounce back,” sophomore defensive specialist Sara Duque said. “We have prepared all week for this weekend and I’m excited that we get another chance to do it better.”
The Canes averaged 8.0 blocks per match last weekend and limited the Cardinals, who average 2.23 blocks per set, to five blocks Friday. Redshirt junior setter Haley Templeton won the duel against Louisville setter Wilma Rivera and goes into this weekend as the ACC’s sole leader with 10.70 assists per set. Strantzali leads the conference with 4.68 kills per set and is the only ACC player with at least 5.0 points per set, averaging 5.25 this season.
NC State (14-7, 9-1 ACC) is one of the two teams tied at the top of the ACC standings. The Wolfpack matched Miami’s run of nine straight victories – including an 8-0 start to conference play – before falling 3-1 to UNC last Wednesday. NC State bounced back with an impressive road victory at Pittsburgh by the same score line, handing the vote-receiving Panthers their first conference and home loss of the season.
History is on Miami’s side before Friday’s showdown, as the Hurricanes lead the all-time series 19-3. The Wolfpack has been a force on the road this season, picking up seven wins away from home, including three of the four road contests in ACC play.
North Carolina’s (10-8, 7-3 ACC) triumph over NC State was the Tar Heels’ fifth straight win, marking UNC’s longest winning streak this season. UNC has won five consecutive matches against Miami to take a 15-12 all-time series lead. The Canes’ last win over the Tar Heels was a dramatic five-set comeback in Coral Gables and came against a UNC team that was 20-1 at the time.
“The teams we are facing this weekend are offensively strong,” Duque said. “I think the defense will be a key factor this weekend, starting from the block to the back-row defense.”
However, the defending champions come to Florida on the back of a sweep in the hands of Pittsburgh, which was the Tar Heels’ seventh defeat away from home in the current campaign. The team’s only road victory in 2017 came on Sept. 29, when UNC bested Clemson 3-1 in ACC play.
The Hurricanes will close out their current homestand with a match against in-state rival Florida State on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m.
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