Volleyball Heads To Florida For Pair Of Conference Matches

MIAMI, FL – After four matches at home, Syracuse volleyball (5-8, 2-4 ACC) heads south for a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) contests in Florida. The first stop for the Orange is in Miami to take on the Hurricanes Friday, October 18 at 7 p.m., before traveling to Tallahassee to face Florida State Sunday at noon. Friday's match will be available to stream on ACC Network Extra and Sunday's tilt will be broadcast live on the ACC Network linear channel.

Fans can only watch if their cable provider carries the ACC Network. Those unsure if their provider carries ACCN are strongly encouraged to visit GetACCN.com.

Syracuse is looking to turn the tables on both of their opponents this weekend. The Orange defeated Miami, 3-1, in 2018 but the Hurricanes lead the all-time series 8-2. A victory for 'Cuse against Florida State would be the first in program history.

LAST TIME OUT
Syracuse earned a conference victory this past Sunday, cruising over Virginia in straight sets. Captain Polina Shemanova paced the Orange in kills (19), digs (16) and tied senior Kendra Lukacs for the team lead in service aces with two. Freshman Marina Markova, normally an outside hitter, served as a middle blocker against the Cavaliers and led the team with four blocks.

WELCOME BACK
The Orange have welcomed back seniors Aliah Bowllan and Kendra Lukacs to the rotation after they were sidelined with injuries early in the season. Lukacs saw her first action of the season vs. Wake Forest and had 10 digs. The Calgary native and a career-high four service aces against Duke.

Bowllan sat out six matches and returned against Pittsburgh, leading Syracuse with 16 digs and tacking on 11 more in the win against Virginia, playing libero in both matches.

SCOUTING THE HURRICANES
Miami enters the match with a 7-7 record and a 3-3 mark in conference play. The Hurricanes lost consecutive matches on the road at North Carolina and NC State last weekend. Miami holds a 3-2 record at home this season.

Freshman setter Savannah Vach leads the Hurricanes with 522 assists in 50 sets played, for an average of 10.44 per set, which ranks fourth in the ACC.

Fellow freshman Kennedy Prince has the most kills for Miami (181). The Sugar Land, Texas native is heavily involved in the Hurricane offense, as her 9.56 attacks per set ranks fourth in the conference. She paced her team with 13 kills in the loss to NC State.

SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
The Seminoles enter Sunday's matchup with a 10-5 record, including a 4-2 record in the ACC. Florida State returns home after a trip to North Carolina, where they swept NC State, 3-0, before falling to UNC in five sets in Chapel Hill. The Seminoles host Boston College Friday night before welcoming the Orange on Sunday.

Florida State has two players with more than 100 kills this season, including reigning ACC Player of the Year Payton Caffrey, who's 3.94 kills per set is second in the ACC, trailing only Shemanova, who averages 4.52 kills per set. Caffery also sits second on the conference in points per set (4.48).

Junior Taryn Knuth leads the ACC in blocks per set (1.62), total blocks (84) and has provided 95 kills of her own. As a whole, the Seminoles lead the ACC in blocks per set (2.96) and have the lowest opponent average blocks per set (1.80).

WHAT'S NEXT
The Orange will continue their four-game road trip in Chapel Hill, NC, as they take on the Tar Heels on Friday the 25^th, at 7 pm. The game can be watched on ACC Network Extra.

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Volleyball Heads To Florida For Pair Of Conference Matches

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Players Mentioned

Aliah Bowllan

Kendra Lukacs

Marina Markova

Polina Shemanova

Syracuse University Athletics