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Date: Saturday, Oct. 3

Time: 7 p.m.

Links: Notes / Stats / Video $

BLACKSBURG – For the first time in three weeks, the Hokies depart Blacksburg to take on rival, Virginia, at 7 p.m. Saturday night in Charlottesville, Virginia. Following a 3-1 midweek win over Pitt, Tech travels with an 11-4 overall mark, 2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers enter the weekend with a 9-4 record, 1-1 in ACC play.

The Hokies continued their winning ways on Wednesday with a four-set victory over Pitt who sat in the top position in the conference prior to the match. Lindsey Owens dominated the ball to record her eighth double-double, downing 20 kills to attack at a .500 clip and 11 digs. Amanda McKinzie extended her double figure kills streak to 12 matches, slugging 15 in the contest. Both middle blockers Kennedy Bryan and Jaila Tolbert recorded a career bests against the Panthers: Bryan with three aces and Tolbert with eight blocks.

Outside hitters McKinzie and Owens lead the Hokies’ offense with 210 and 188 kills, respectively. Owens is closing in on the 1,000 kill mark with 899 thus far in the 2015 season. The pair sits in the top three of digs while leading the aces column. Kenedy McGrath averages 3.79 digs per set, sitting in the ninth position on the ACC’s leaderboard.

Ashley Battle leads the middle blockers with 58 blocks while averaging 1.61 kills per set, just behind Bryan’s 2.07. Tolbert and Cara Cunningham round out the group with 1.43 and 1.09 kills per set, respectively.

Scouting the Cavaliers:

Virginia returns home after a month-long road trip, serving as host to Pitt Friday and Tech Saturday. The Cavaliers split ACC play’ opening weekend with a 3-1 win over Duke on Friday but fell short in five sets to Wake Forest to close out the weekend. Kayla Sears and Natalie Bausback lead Virginia with Sears’ 152 kills and Bausback’s 148 kills and 217 digs. With 124 kills and 40 blocks, Anna Walsh was named ACC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season.

The Series:

The Hokies trail the Cavaliers’ series by two matches, 31-33. However, under head coach Chris Riley, the Hokies lead 11-7. The two squads split the matches last season with Virginia taking the first 3-2 and Tech claiming the 3-1 win. The teams have faced each other 64 times over the last 36 years, beginning with a 3-0 Tech win in 1979.

The match is presented by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics. It is also a potential half point in the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash, the new point rivalry series between University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. This weekend’s contest marks the first between the two schools for the 2015-16 Clash. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at thecommonwealthclash.com.

Up Next:

The Hokies travel north, facing Boston College on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m followed by Syracuse on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.

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