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BLACKSBURG, Va. – Coming off a win over 12th-ranked Illinois, the Virginia Tech volleyball team opens the home slate hosting the Hokie Invitational, Sept. 19-20 at Cassell Coliseum. Joining the Hokies for the two-day event are Radford, UNC Wilmington and Marshall.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 19
Radford vs. Marshall, 4:30 p.m.
UNC Wilmington at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 20
Radford at Virginia Tech, 10 a.m.
UNC Wilmington vs. Marshall, 12:30 p.m.
Radford vs. UNC Wilmington, 5 p.m.
Marshall at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.

THE HOKIES (4-6)
Virginia Tech traveled to Middle Tennessee last weekend for the Blue Raider Bash, finishing 2-2 including wins over host team MT and 12th-ranked Illinois, marking the biggest win in program history. The Hokies had five players tally double-digit kills in the win over the Illini and were led by Lindsey Owens and Amanda McKinizie with 14 each. LaTasha Samson-Akpan had 12 kills while Ashley Battle and Kathryn Caine added 10 a piece. Battle also had a strong defensive match with nine blocks.

Owens leads the Hokies on the season, averaging 3.57 kps. Caine is posting 2.32 kps and McKinzie is tallying 2.28. The Hokies split time at the setter spot with Jordan Fish and Kyra Coundourides putting up 6.46 and 4.84 aps, respectively.

On the defensive side, Megan Beckwith leads the back line with 2.97 dps while Battle is posting 1.11 bps on the front row.

THE SEAHAWKS (9-2)
UNC Wilmington had its seven-match winning streak snapped the last time out, falling to Charlotte. The Seahawks' other loss on the season was at the hands of NC State.

Leading the UNCW offense is Morgan Kline with 3.30 kps while Nicole Lott is adding 2.34 kps. The Seahawks also run a two-setter offense with Alyssa Desjardins putting up 5.95 aps and Victoria Phillips tallying 4.18 aps.

UNCW has a strong backcourt with Morgan Owney recording 4.1 dps and Lindsay Hartmann and Kline both averaging more than three per set. Meredith Peacock leads at the net with 1.40 bps.

THE HIGHLANDERS (8-3)
Radford claimed the Big South title last season and is off to a strong start in 2014, including wins over Cal and Maryland. The Highlanders defeated Georgia State the last time out.

Rachel Wiechecki leads the Highlanders on the attack with 3.33 kps while also posting a team-best 3.63 dps on the defensive side. Megan Short averages 2.30 kps and Maddie Palmer is adding 2.12 kps. Jena Braden runs the offense for the Highlanders in the setter spot with 9.26 aps.

On the defensive side, Kelby Jackson is also posting over three digs per set with 3.62 while at the net, Savannah Cantrell has 34 blocks on the season.

THE THUNDERING HERD (5-6)
Marshall is coming off a win over Morehead State the last time out. The Herd has four players averaging over two kills per set and are led by Cassie Weaver with 2.81. Ally Kiekover is adding 2.49 kps while Lauren Legge and Elyse Panick are tallying 2.36 and 2.28 kps, respectively. Sammie Bane is putting up 7.82 aps for the offense.

Defensively, Marshall’s Allie Kellerman is recording 3.85 dps while at the net Jillian Shemanski has swatted 38 blocks this season, averaging 1.19 per set.

ALL-TIME vs. THE FIELD
The Hokies are 2-0 all-time against UNC Wilmington. The two teams last met in 2008 when Tech claimed the 3-0 win over the Seahawks.

Virginia Tech and Radford have a long history, having faced each other 32 times previously, but have not met in over 10 years. The Hokies are 26-6 in the series and notched a 3-0 win the last time the two teams faced each other back during the 2003 campaign.

Tech and Marshall have also faced each other numerous times over the season with the Hokies holding the 13-5 advantage. The last time the two teams met was in 2008 when Marshall took the 3-2 win in Huntington, West Virginia.

PARKING FOR SATURDAY
Virginia Tech will also be hosting its ACC football opener on Saturday against Georgia Tech. Kickoff is slated for noon and will impact parking for the morning matches as well as the 5 p.m. match. Information about public parking on football game days can be found here.

UP NEXT
The Hokies will open ACC play, traveling to Wake Forest on Friday, Sept. 26 for a 6:30 p.m. match against the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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