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Match Notes | WatchESPN vs. Louisville | WatchESPN vs. Notre Dame

BLACKSBURG – After a four-match road swing, the Virginia Tech volleyball team returns to Carilion Court at Cassell Coliseum this weekend where the Hokies will face Louisville on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Notre Dame on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Friday night is Montgomery County School Night at Cassell Coliseum where the first 100 kids will receive a limited edition Virginia Tech Nike school folder. The first 100 fans on Sunday afternoon will receive a free pink Virginia Tech water bottle as part of the Hokies’ Pink Match against the Irish.

The Hokies went 1-3 on its road trip that included a 3-0 win at Wake Forest and a heartbreaking five-set defeat against No. 15 Florida State in Tallahassee. Junior Cara Cunningham hit .393 over the weekend with seven blocks and two aces.

Freshman Carol Raffety also made her first appearance at outside hitter in the Sunshine State where she had nine kills and a .350 attack percentage against No. 15 Florida State. Raffety passed Rachel Julian’s 1996 dig total of 295 over the weekend and now ranks fourth in Tech’s freshman record book with 311.

The Hokies are 4-3 all-time vs. Notre Dame and are 3-0 against the Irish at Cassell Coliseum. Tech has won the last two meetings, including last year’s 3-0 victory in South Bend. The Cardinals have won its last seven matches against the Hokies.

Entering the weekend, head coach Chris Riley is 10 wins away from 200 victories as the head coach of the Hokies. Riley is in his 11th season leading the program and is on pace to join John Pierce (1977-90) as the only two head coaches to record 200 wins at Tech.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• Louisville has lost three-straight and are 2-3 in road matches this season.
• Melanie McHenry averages 3.06 k/ps while starting OH Janelle Jenkins has been out the last three matches with an injury.
• The Irish have won eight of its last nine and pushed No. 8 UNC to five sets last weekend.
• Setter Caroline Holt averages 10.94 assists and 1.99 digs per set.

RAFFETY CAN DO IT ALL
•Freshman Carol Raffety moved from libero to outside hitter after the second set against No. 15 Florida State and provided the offensive spark that the Hokies were looking for as Tech came from two sets down to force a deciding fifth set.
•Raffety hit .350 with nine kills and an ace in two sets at OH in Tech’s 3-2 loss to the Seminoles.
•After seeing time at OH in the Hokies’ next match against Miami, Raffety finished the weekend with a .265 hitting percentage, 23 digs and a block.

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_VBall and on Instagram @vthokievolleyball