Volleyball Hosts Virginia Tech

For the second time in two weeks, the Syracuse volleyball team will face off against Virginia Tech. Syracuse (16-7, 12-3 ACC) returns home looking for its fifth-straight victory as they host the Hokies (14-13, 5-10 ACC) Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.

ABOUT THE SERIES
Syracuse is 4-7 all-time against Virginia Tech but has taken three of the last five matchups, including a 3-1 victory earlier this season on Nov. 2.

The last matchup between the two teams saw a 19-block performance from the Orange, highlighted by 12 from Amber Witherspoon. The trio of Polina Shemanova, Santita Ebangwese and Witherspoon notched double-digit kills with 12, 11 and 10, respectively. Ebangwese had an error-less night with a .733 hitting percentage on 15 attacks. The Orange forced 19 attack errors and held Virginia Tech to a season-low .070 hitting percentage.

SCOUTING THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech has dropped five of its last six matches, including its 3-1 loss to Syracuse, but are coming off a 3-0 sweep over Boston College. Four of Virginia Tech's five conference victories have come in three sets.

The Hokies are led by sophomore Kaity Smith who ranks sixth in the ACC with 3.52 kills per set. Senior Jalia Tolbert recorded 21 kills last time out against the Orange, becoming the first Hokie this season to surpass 20 kills. As a team, Virginia Tech ranks fifth in the ACC for service aces (1.36) and is fourth for opponent kills (12.13).

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend the Orange swept Georgia Tech for the second time the season. Polina Shemanova picked up her third ACC Freshman of the Week honor, more than any other player in the ACC, on the heels of a 16 kill performance against the Yellow Jackets. Her mark came on 26 attacks to finish with a .500 hitting percentage.

Four attackers – Shemanova, Amber Witherspoon, Santita Ebangwese and Ella Saada - combined for 43 of the Orange's 45 kills. Witherspoon totaled 12 kills hitting .556 for the second-straight match while Ebangwese and Saada followed with eight and seven, respectively.

BLOCKERS GAME
With its dominant blocking presence, Syracuse ranks second in the country with 3.06 blocks per set – behind only Stanford's nation-leading mark of 3.35. Witherspoon's 1.53 blocks per set are second in the ACC and ninth in the country while Ebangwese ranks 35^th nationally.

UP NEXT
Syracuse enters its final week of the season with a road match at NC State Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. The Orange return home Saturday, Nov. 24 for a 1 p.m. matchup against Wake Forest where they will honor the teams six seniors. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

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Players Mentioned

Santita Ebangwese

Ella Saada

Polina Shemanova

Amber Witherspoon

Syracuse University Athletics