Volleyball Travels to Notre Dame, No. 22 Louisville

As it enters the second half of Atlantic Coast Conference play, the Syracuse University volleyball team will be tested against two of the conference's strongest defenses as it travels to take on Notre Dame and No. 22 Louisville. The Fighting Irish and Cardinals have held opponents to a .161 and .172 hitting percentage this season, respectively, ranking second and third in the ACC.

Syracuse, which leads the league in blocks per set, will take on Notre Dame Friday at 7 p.m. The Orange then travel to face No. 22 Louisville Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ACCN Extra.

THE MATCHUPS
Notre Dame (12-8, 6-4 ACC) ranks second in the ACC in blocks per set, behind only Syracuse. The Irish's defense is led by Ryann DeJarld, who tops all conference players with 4.96 digs per set. Meg Morningstar leads the effort at the net, ranking second in blocks per set (1.49). Notre Dame, which leads the league in digs per set, has given up the second-least amount of blocks per set against ACC opponents this season.

Louisville (16-5, 9-1 ACC) took its first loss of conference play to then-No. 6 Pittsburgh last weekend, 3-1. The Cardinals rank in the ACC top-three in eight statistical categories, including second in kills per set (13.90). Senior Jasmine Bennett ranks third in the conference with a .396 hitting percentage, while Wilma Rivera leads the ACC with 11.01 assists per set.

LAST TIME OUT
The Orange took two conference victories last weekend against North Carolina and NC State, moving to 8-2 in ACC play. The 8-2 record is the best open to ACC play in school history. Senior Jalissa Trotter led the way, earning Co-ACC Player of the Week honors for her efforts. Trotter averaged 11.0 assists, 2.14 digs, 1.57 kills and one block per set with a .526 hitting percentage on the weekend. Her 77 assists in the two matches moved her to 2,281 in her career, ranking eighth all-time at Syracuse.

Against North Carolina, Syracuse recorded a season-high .365 hitting percentage as head coach Leonid Yelin picked up his 100^th win at the helm of the program. Polina Shemanova led the Orange for the ninth-straight match with a game-high 18 kills before following it up Sunday with 21 against the Wolfpack. Shemanova, who leads the ACC in kills, is averaging 5.00 kills per set against conference opponents.

UP NEXT
Syracuse returns home for a midweek matchup Wednesday, Oct. 31 against Boston College at 5 p.m. before heading back on the road Nov. 2 against Virginia Tech.

Volleyball Travels to Notre Dame, No. 22 Louisville

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Players Mentioned

Polina Shemanova

Jalissa Trotter

Syracuse University Athletics