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Dates: Oct. 9, Oct. 11

Friday at Boston College (7:30 p.m.): Stats / Video

Sunday at Syracuse (1 p.m.): Stats / Video

Weekend Notes

BLACKSBURG – Looking to add two wins to their belt, the Hokies travel to a pair of ACC opponents, Boston College and Syracuse, this weekend. Sunday’s match against the Orange will be streamed on ESPN3.

The Virginia Tech volleyball teams depart Blacksburg with an 11-5 mark, 2-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles serve as Friday match’s host with a 9-7 record, 1-3 in conference. Sitting in the fourth spot in the standings, the Orange, enter the weekend with a 12-3 overall mark, 3-1 in the ACC.

Tech returns to action after a 1-1 outcome last week, taking Pitt in four sets, before falling to Virginia by the same margin in the first contest of the 2015-16 Commonwealth Clash. The Hokies dominated their midweek match against Pitt as both outside hitters Lindsey Owens and Amanda McKinzie downed double-digit kills of 20 and 15, respectively. Jaila Tolbert blocked eight Panther attacks while Ashley Battle hit a perfect 7-for-11. Kennedy Bryan paced the team on Saturday at Virginia with a team-high nine kills. Three Hokies added eight apiece while libero Kenedy McGrath collected 14 digs.

The tandem of McKinzie and Owens account for 414 of the Hokies’ 793 kills and 35 of 75 aces. With Owens’ 907 career kills, she is on pace to reach the 1,000 mark by the end of the season. Bryan is a growing threat on the court, slugging three aces against Pitt.

Middle blocker Battle surpassed the 50-block mark at Virginia with two block assists and the lone solo block for the Hokies. The redshirt sophomore averages 1.00 blocks per set and currently sits in the seventh spot in the ACC standings with her .351 hitting percentage.

Scouting the Eagles:

Boston College opens conference play at home this weekend. The Eagles split most recent their road trip, earning their first ACC win with a 3-0 sweep at Notre Dame but fell short to Louisville on Sunday. Senior Katty Workman leads the Eagles with 227 kills to average 4.41 kills per set, placing her in the second spot in conference standings.

Scouting the Orange:

Syracuse begins the weekend serving as host to Pittsburgh before welcoming Virginia Tech on Sunday for an ESPN3 streamed match. The Orange return home after a 1-1 weekend falling at Louisville before defeating Notre Dame. Middle blockers Leah Levert and Santita Ebangwese have recorded 77 and 75 blocks, respectively, to earn them top-10 spots on the ACC leaderboard.

The Series:

The Hokies hold a 19-7 record over this weekend’s opponents. Since 2001, Tech leads Boston College, 14-6 with an 11-4 margin under head coach Chris Riley. The Hokies have swept the Eagles 10 of their 14 wins, only falling by that same margin twice. Virginia Tech enters the weekend with a 5-1 record over Syracuse since the teams’ first meeting in 1993. The Hokies are 2-0 over the Orange when they joined the ACC in 2013.

Up Next:

The Hokies return home next weekend facing Clemson Friday at 7 p.m. and Georgia Tech Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.

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