Boston College Athletics
Volleyball Travels to Duke, Wake Forest This Weekend
October 13, 2011 | Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2011
Chestnut Hill, Mass. –The Boston College volleyball team continues ACC play this weekend when it takes the court against Duke on Friday, Oct. 14, at 4:30 p.m. and meets Wake Forest on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m. The match against the Blue Devils can be seen live through a subscription-based service or followed along with stat updates through NeuLion. The Demon Deacons will also provide live-stats, courtesy of GameTracker.
The Stage
Boston College (6-12, 2-5 ACC) enters the match having split its last four conference games. Duke (10-6, 4-3 ACC) has won six of its last 10 outings, while Wake Forest (4-12, 1-6 ACC) is in the midst of a six game skid. Historically, the Eagles have not faired well in these matchups, as BC is still looking for its first win over the Blue Devils in 11 tries and has not beaten the Demon Deacons since 2007.
Scouting the Eagles
Senior Tsvetelina Dureva leads BC in scoring with 3.29 points per set. The Sofia, Bulgaria native is the Eagles most looked to player on the attack, having totaled nearly 600 attempts, averaging 3.05 kills per set, a mark that is eighth in the conference.
Freshman Courtney Castle is second on the team in kills per game (2.14) and digs per set (2.75). The outside hitter currently leads the conference in aces per game (0.36), having recorded 16 in 44 games.
Junior captain Krystle Higgins leads the team in attack percentage (.246) and is second on the squad in total blocks (45). Sophomore Melissa McTighe is the team’s leader in blocks (46) and second in attack efficiency (.228).
Freshman setter Kellie Barnum has distributed most of the offense that is averaging 12.13 kills per set in conference play. The product of Pacific-Palisades, Calif., leads BC with 261 assists.
Senior Brennan Clark ranks third in the ACC with a 4.74 digs per set average. The captain has been a steady force on the back-line during her time at the Heights, entering this weekend just shy of recording 300 digs in season for the fourth time of her career. The Mililani, Hawaii native ranks second on BC’s all-time list with 1,568 career digs.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Four players for the Duke offense are averaging more than 2.35 kills per game. The Blue Devils have largely looked to Sophia Dunworth and Amanda Robertson, who lead the team with 177 and 149 kills, respectively. However, Christiana Grey’s attack percentage of .361 (139K-36E-285A) is fifth best in the ACC and Jeme Obeime’s 2.57 kills per set is second highest on the team.
2010 ACC Player of the Year Kellie Catanach still controls the reigns for the Durham squad. The senior setter’s 10.90 assists per set is the 34th best in the nation.
Catanach also has a respectable 29 blocks on the year, but Gray and Robertson has stopped the most shots, 58 and 47, to date. The Blue Devils average 1.87 blocks per game, only two-hundredths more than BC. Robertson is also the team’s leader in aces (17), but has one error for every point earned at the service line.
Sophomore Ali McCurdy has 337 digs through 63 sets this season. Her 5.35 scoops per game leads the conference.
Scouting the Demon Deacons
Wake Forest has been hitting .192 so far this season, while their opponents are averaging a .227 strike percentage.
The leaders of the Wake attack are Kadija Fornah (3.28 kills per game), Andrea Beck (2.72 kpg) and Carlin Salmon (2.69 kpg). Salmon is also the leading blocker with 66 total stops. Her 1.14 blocks per set is sixth best in the ACC
The first play for Demon Deacons has been fairly even amongst the team. Dani Thompson is usually the first one to get a touch on the ball, as her 218 digs (3.89 dpg) are a team-high.
The attack then flows through Danae Rosendall, whose 8.97 assists per game is seventh best in the ACC.
