Oct. 6, 2005
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The University of Miami volleyball team opens up a three-match road swing with matches at NC State and North Carolina this weekend. The Hurricanes will square of against the Wolfpack on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before facing the Tar Heels Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
Last weekend, the Hurricanes spilt a pair of ACC matches to bring their record to 7-5 overall and 2-2 in league play. After claiming a 3-2 comeback victory over Clemson on Friday, Miami fell in a five-game heartbreaker to Georgia Tech. The loss to the Yellow Jackets marked, not only the second time during the weekend that a match came down to the fifth and deciding game, but also the first time the Hurricanes have lost a five-gamer in four tries this season.
During the weekend, the Hurricanes were encouraged by the play of middle blockers Francheska Savage and Ciara Michel as well as sophomore Michelle Bruin, all of which had career performances.
Savage and Michel moved into a more offensive role as they both contributed double-digit kill efforts while averaging a combined 1.40 blocks per game during both matches. After knocking down a career-high 18 kills against Clemson, Savage set a new personal-best with 19 kills against Georgia Tech. Michel set a new Miami match record with five solo blocks against Clemson before she tallied a career-high 18 kills against the Yellow Jackets.
Michelle Bruin quickly acclimated into the libero position by recording 16 digs against Clemson before setting a new career-high of 19 digs against Georgia Tech.
Miami will continue to rely on the steady play of senior Karla Johnson and junior Jill Robinson. Johnson remains the ACC leader in kills per game (5.04), for which is also ranked 15th in the nation. Robinson continues to run the Hurricanes' offense by dishing out 11.88 assists per game--third-best in the ACC.
Scouting the Opponents...
NC State: After opening the season by winning six of eight non-conference matches, NC State (6-7, 0-5 ACC) has gone winless in five consecutive ACC matches with its latest loss coming at the hands of visiting North Carolina, 3-2, Tuesday night.
As a team, the Wolfpack is averaging 12.3 kills per game while hitting .201. Their 3.0 blocks per game is ranked third in the ACC.
NC State is led by Stefani Eddins who leads the ACC in blocks per game (1.53) and hitting percentage (.439). Melissa Rabe is atop the ACC with 0.55 aces per game and is the Wolfpack's assists leader with 9.45 per game.
The Hurricanes swept both meetings last season and lead the all-time series, 2-0.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels (9-6, 4-1) have won four out of their last five matches, including victories against Virginia Tech, Virginia, Wake Forest and NC State on Tuesday.
As a team, the Tar Heels are ranked second in the ACC with 17.75 digs per game. There are ranked sixth in both blocks (2.57bpg) and kills (14.85kpg).
North Carolina is led by Camilla Ihenetu and her 3.75 kills per game, which rank fifth in the ACC. Ihenetu has also posted 23 service aces this season.
Defensively, Taylor Rayfield is fifth in the ACC with 4.21 digs per game while Christie Clark has posted a team-best 1.16 blocks per game.
The Hurricanes swept both meetings last season and lead the all-time series, 5-2.
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Miami volleyball friends and fans can follow all the action with live scoring at www.hurricanesports.com
