BLACKSBURG — The Virginia Tech volleyball team continues its home stand this weekend, with a match set for Friday against Clemson and Sunday against No. 18 Georgia Tech. First serve for Friday's match is set for 6 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum, followed by Sunday's match that will begin at 1 p.m.
THINGS TO KNOW
Scouting Clemson
Clemson enters ACC play with an 8-3 nonconference record after sweeping the Big Orange Bash. The Tigers defeated UNC Asheville 3-0, Rutgers 3-0, and East Tennessee State 3-1. With a perfect 7-0 at home, the Tigers losses came on the road against UCF, South Carolina, and Santa Clara. With Clemson averaging 13.1 kills per set and tied for sixth in the ACC in hitting percentage with .269, the Hokies will need to keep an eye on Kaylee Martin and Ava Pritchard. Martin is the team-leader in kills with 124 and Pritchard has 60 kills and 83 points, as well as a team-high 27.5 blocks, .809 blocks per set. Defensively, Devan Taylor leads the Tigers with 156 digs and 4.105 digs per set. The Tigers rely on Mckenna Slavik and Jenna Moore as their setters, recording 245 and 122 assists, respectively.
Scouting Georgia Tech
The No. 18 Yellow Jackets currently have a 9-1 record, playing Wake Forest on Friday night before taking on the Hokies. Georgia Tech has posted signature wins over then-No. 12 Penn State 3-2, and a sweep of Arkansas and Georgia. Georgia Tech's only loss of the season came at the hands of then-No. 18 UCLA 3-1. The Yellow Jackets have a current ACC leader on their team, Julia Bergmann, who leads the ACC with 5.28 kills per set and 161 kills. Mariana Brambilla is also ranked fourth with 4.47 points per set. Breland Morrissette is strong at the net as she has 40 total blocks on the season, averaging 1.11 blocks per set. Assist wise, Matti McKissock is the one to watch as she has 384 assists so far, 10.97 per set.
ACC Play
Virginia Tech heads into ACC play with its best record since the 2019 season. The Hokies finished ACC play with a 5-11 record a season ago, sweeping Virginia as well as then-No. 14 Duke and Syracuse. The ACC currently has three teams ranked in the top 25; Georgia Tech is currently No. 18, while Pitt is No. 4 and Louisville is No. 5. Three teams are currently undefeated with North Carolina posting an 11-0 record and Louisville and Pitt are both 10-0. The ACC is currently 7-2 in nonconference ranked matches and 6-3 against top-15 opponents this season. As a whole, the ACC is 103-25 in nonconference play which is the best among the Power 5.
Did You know
Virginia Tech has played the highest number of sets so far this season in the ACC with 51 over 12 matches. The next closest team is Boston College who has played 49 sets. Florida State has only played 32 sets over nine matches. Six of Tech's matches have gone into five sets as the Hokies have a 4-2 record in the five-set matches. The Hokies have not been swept so far this season, with all three of the three-set matches ending in their favor.
UP NEXT
After Sunday's match, the Hokies will head north to play Boston College on Friday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. Virginia Tech will end its road trip with a 1 p.m. match at Syracuse.
