October 3, 2013
Tech continues road swing at Pitt, Maryland
The Hokies will face the Panthers on ESPN3
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech volleyball team will be on the road this weekend, traveling to face ACC newcomer Pittsburgh on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in Fitzgerald Fieldhouse before making the trip to Maryland on Sunday, Oct. 6 to face the Terps at 2 p.m.

vs. Pittsburgh
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Live Video – ESPN3

vs. Maryland
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Match Notes

The Hokies
- Tech split results last weekend to open the ACC slate. The Hokies defeated Wake Forest, 3-1 on Friday before falling to Duke 3-0 on Saturday.
- Victoria Hamsher tallied 16 kills against the Deacs while Samantha Gostling added 13 and Lindsey Owens posted 11. Owens also had 11 kills against the Blue Devils to lead the Hokies.
- Gostling and Owens are leading the Hokies with 3.13 kps. Hamsher and Caine rank first and third in the ACC in attack percentage with .422 and .366, respectively. Jordan Fish is notching 11.31 assists per set to rank second in the league and 22nd in the NCAA.
- Owens has also been strong for the Hokies on the serve, averaging 0.56 aces per set to top the ACC and rank 10th in the nation.
- On the defensive side, LaTasha Samson-Akpan is tallying 1.27 blocks per set, ranking fifth in the ACC. Megan Beckwith is averaging 4.00 digs per set, good for 10th in the league.
- The Hokies sit atop the ACC and are 14th in the NCAA in team attack percentage at .287.

Scouting the Panthers
- Pittsburgh is off to a 2-0 record in its first year in the ACC, defeating both Clemson and Georgia Tech last weekend with a 3-0 sweep of both teams.
- Maria Genitsaridi led the Panthers with 10 kills against the Tigers while Kate Yeazel had the team-high against the Yellow Jackets with 14.
- Yeazel leads the Panthers on the season, averaging 3.14 kills per set, while Jessica Wynn is adding 3.12. Lindsey Zitzke and Jenna Jacobson split time at setter, averaging 5.76 and 4.72 aps, respectively.
- On the defensive side, Jenna Potts is posting 1.12 blocks per set and Jessica Boddy is adding 1.09 bps. Delaney Clesen 4.36 digs per set.

The Series
- Pitt holds the slight 3-2 all-time lead in the series, but the two teams have not met since both were members of the Big East Conference in 2003. The Hokies claimed a 3-0 (30-27, 30-17, 30-26) win in that meeting in Blacksburg.
- The Panthers are 2-0 against the Hokies when playing in Pittsburgh.

Scouting the Terrapins
- Maryland opened its ACC slate last weekend with a 1-1 record, defeating Georgia Tech before falling to Clemson.
- Mary Cushman posted a team-best 17 kills against the Yellow Jackets while Emily Fraik tallied the high with 18 against the Tigers.
- Cushman leads the Terps with 3.54 kills per set. Adreen Elliott is posting 3.04 kps. Julia Anderson and Amy Dion are both seeing time in the setter spot, tallying 5.90 and 4.67 aps, respectively.
- Defensively, Kelsey Hrebenach and Ashlyn MacGregor are posting 1.10 bps each while Sarah Harper is posting a league-leading 4.94 digs per set.

The Series
- Maryland holds the edge in the all-time series at 10-9, and won the last meeting between the two teams 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 20-20) last season on Nov. 10 in Blacksburg. Tech was led by former Hokie Cara Baarendse with 15 kills while Hamsher added 10. Crutcher knocked down 13 kills for the Terps.
- The Hokies picked up the win the last time in College Park, defeating the Terps, 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 22-25, 25-19, 16-14) on Sept. 28, 2012. Caine had 13 kills for Tech while Gostling added 11. Crutcher tallied 26 for Maryland.

Virginia Tech will return home on Friday, Oct. 11 to host Boston College at 7 p.m. The Hokies will remain at home to host Syracuse on Sunday, Oct. 13 in a 1 p.m. match.

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_VBall).

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