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Match Notes | WatchESPN (vs. Duke) | Live Stats (vs. Wake Forest)

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech volleyball team hits the road for the first time in ACC play this Friday as the Hokies face Wake Forest at 6:30 p.m. before traveling to Durham for a 1 p.m. match on Sunday against Duke.

The Hokies, still battling injuries and adjusting lineup combinations with a short bench, are 2-2 in the early going of conference play that includes two sweeps of Clemson and Virginia. Tech’s 3-0 win over Virginia marked their third win in its last four meetings with its in-state foe and their sweep of the Hoos since 2012.

Behind sophomore Jaila Tolbert's .368 attack percentage in conference matches, the Hokies rank fifth in the ACC in conference play with a .232 team hitting percentage.

This season, the Hokies are 0-1 in true road matches, a 3-0 loss at Lipscomb on Sept. 10. Tech is 11-10 all-time when playing in Winston-Salem and are 2-2 over its last four meetings when playing the Demon Deacons on the road. Cameron Indoor Stadium, though, has been a house of the horrors for Tech as the Hokies have not won at Duke in 16 tries.

The Hokies’ matchup with the Blue Devils features two of the conferences top liberos as Tech’s Carol Raffety (4.48 d/ps) and Duke’s Sasha Karelov (5.13 d/ps) are set to square off. Raffety and Cara Cunningham, whose 1.39 blocks p/s ranks 22nd in the nation, lead the Hokie defensive effort.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
• Wake Forest has lost four of its last five meetings with the Hokies.
• Reigning co-ACC Player of Week Kylie Long leads the Deacs with 3.98 kills per set and averages 1.79 digs per frame.
• Duke is undefeated against the Hokies at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• The Blue Devils have won five of their last six matches.

CUNNINGHAM AT THE NET
•Four matches into conference play, junior middle blocker Cara Cunningham has asserted herself as one of the top defensive middles in the ACC as she ranks fourth in the league and leads the Hokies with 1.39 blocks per set.
•Cunningham is on pace to surpass her 82 blocks that she posted last season as she has rejected 64 shots thus far in 2016.
•Despite missing two matches with an injury, Cunningham’s 1.39 blocks per set still ranks in the top five in the ACC and 22nd in the NCAA.
•She has registered five or more blocks in seven matches this season.
•Her 11 blocks against Ole Miss (9/9) set a career-high and is tied for sixth in a single match in program history.

OWENS SET TO JOIN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
•After surpassing the 1,000 dig plateau earlier in the season, Owens is set to join even more rare company as she enters career top 10s in both digs and kills at Tech.
•Owens currently ranks fifth all-time with 1,292 kills and sits just outside the top 10 with 1,129 career digs, 21 shy of tying Jenni McFadden for 10th.
•If she moves past McFadden, Owens would become one of only four players in Tech history to appear in the top 10 in both kills and digs.

POWERS SETTLES IN AT SETTER
•Replacing starting setter Rhegan Mitchell, who has been sidelined with an injury, has been a tall task for junior Mandy Powers but she seems to found her groove in ACC play.
•The Hokies are 3-3 in matches where Powers has started at setter and she has posted 30+ assists in all six of those matches.
•With Powers at setter in ACC play, the Hokies rank fifth in the conference with a .232 attack percentage.

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