ACC Volleyball Begins In N.C.

SYRACUSE N.Y. - Finishing non-conference play with a 7-5 record the Orange welcomes its third road trip of the season and first of conference play this weekend. Syracuse leaves Thursday for its matchup with NC State on Friday and its match Sunday against No. 12 North Carolina.

Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 PM - NC State (11-1) | Live Stats

NC State is one of four teams in the ACC with 11 wins and its one loss ties it for second in the conference standings with Pittsburgh behind the unscathed No. 6 Florida State (11-0). The Wolfpack's one loss this season came in its first match of the season against Eastern Washington in five sets, since NC State has won 11 straight.

Earlier this year NC State was picked to finish seventh in the Preseason ACC Poll. The ranking seats them just one spot ahead of Syracuse in the poll. Like Syracuse, just one member of the Wolfpack was honored on the Preseason All-ACC Team. The honor went to outside hitter, Dariyan Hopper who ranks fourth on the team with 84 kills and averages 2.33 kills per set.

A large part of the Wolfpack's success has been a strong defense combined with consistent pinpoint serving. NC State is holding opponents to a measly .145 hitting percentage and is averaging 1.70 aces per set. Its opponent hitting percentage ranks NC State third in the conference while its service aces per set ranks it second. Nikki Glass' 16 aces in 33 tries contribute to a total 78 aces for NC State which stands as the most in the ACC.

Sunday, Sept. 28 at 2 PM – North Carolina (9-1) | Live Stats | Watch Live (ESPN3)

No. 12 North Carolina will be Syracuse's toughest match yet and will be its first meeting with a ranked opponent this season. UNC is one-of-two teams ranked in the ACC, the other being No. 6 Florida State. The Tarheels are 9-1 this season and riding a seven-game winning streak since suffering its sole loss to No. 16 Illinois.

North Carolina was selected to finish third in this season's ACC Preseason Poll behind Duke and Florida State with four first place votes. Two Tarheels, Paige Neuenfeldt and Chaniel Nelson, were honored on the Preseason All-ACC Team. Nelson ranks third on the team with 61 kills and 27 blocks while Neuenfeldt has recorded 36 blocks this season.

The Tarheels pose an exciting matchup for fans to view on ESPN3 as the top two blocking teams in the ACC square off. UNC averages 3.33 blocks per set, while SU averages 3.01. However, 'Cuse out blocks North Carolina, 141-to-110 in total blocks this season. Victoria McPherson has 53 total blocks this season, averaging an ACC best 1.71 per set. Lindsay McCabe is ranked fourth in the ACC in the category with 1.38 per set but out-blocks McPherson in total blocks with 65.

The Tarheels are the third most dangerous serving team in the conference, averaging 1.67 per set. Ece Taner and Jordan Schnabl each have 13 this season tying them for seventh in the conference. A large part of UNC's success however is its hitting percentage and its opponent hitting percentage. Ranked fourth in the ACC in each category, the Tarheels are hitting .262 this season and holding the opposition to swinging .160.

SU Notes

Monika Salkute tied the school record for service aces in a set with seven against Colgate. The record-tying performance was the highlight of an astounding three-game stretch she put together. In three matches, Salkute reached a number of career highs while recording 71 points, 52 kills, a .387 hitting percentage, 10 aces, 27 digs and 18 total blocks.
Silvi Uattara sits seventh in the ACC in kills per set, averaging 3.64. She currently leads SU in kills with 171. She is just 46 kills away from qualifying for the SU record book in kills per set.
Gosia Wlaszczuk continues to improve as a setter averaging 7.49 assists per set after her first 40+ assist match with 42 against Cornell. Wlaszczuk also has 61 kills which stands as the most kills recorded by any setter in the conference.
In each of SU's 12 games this season it has out-blocked its opponents 144.5-to-66.5.
Lindsay McCabe is third in SU history with 515 total blocks (72 solo, 443 assisted), one solo block away from the sixth most in program history and just 15 block assists away from the school record.
McCabe currently has the second most blocks in the ACC (65) and is averaging the fourth most blocks per set with 1.38.
Leah Levert also ranks amongst the best in the ACC, averaging 1.21 blocks per set.
Six-of-seven freshmen have seen in-game action with Belle Sand and Dana Crispi earning a great deal of playing time in the back row. Sand and Crispi have each earned starts this season while Levert has started all but two games.

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Players Mentioned

Dana Crispi

Leah Levert

Lindsay McCabe

Monika Salkute

Belle Sand

Silvi Uattara

Gosia Wlaszczuk

Syracuse University Athletics