Boston College Athletics
Volleyball Targeting Yellow Jackets, Tigers This Weekend
November 02, 2011 | Volleyball
Nov. 2, 2011
Chestnut Hill, Mass. –The Boston College volleyball team looks to pick up a pair of conference wins when Georgia Tech and Clemson enter Power Gym this weekend. The Eagles (7-17, 3-10 ACC) take the court against the Yellow Jackets on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. and meet the Tigers on Sunday, Nov. 6 at noon. Fans are invited to follow live stats for both match updates via GameTracker (Georgia Tech / Clemson).
(Please be advised that Sunday marks the end of daylight savings and clocks should be set back one hour.)
The Stage
The Eagles look to snap a four-match skid by avenging losses suffered earlier in the season at the hands of Georgia Tech and Clemson. BC has already picked up its most since 2007 and been in position to claim others, but will need to close out sets to take victories from a pair of the best hitting schools in the nation. The Eagles have not defeated either side since the 2006 season.
Last Weekend
Boston College was topped in matches at North Carolina, 3-0, and NC State, 3-1. In Chapel Hill, the Eagles were led by senior middle hitter Mollie Kolosky (7 kills), freshman setter Kellie Barnum (22 assists), senior libero Brennan Clark (13 digs) and junior middle hitter Krystle Higgins (5 blocks). With 14 kills and 18 digs, freshman outside hitter Courtney Castle recorded her fifth double-double of year at NC State. Clark and freshman DS Lauren Field putting up 16 and 12 digs, respectively, to help Barnum dish out 45 assists. Higgins also posted 10 kills and equaled sophomore middle hitter Melissa McTighe’s five blocks.
The Last Time Out
Oct. 7, 2011 – Clemson - The Boston College volleyball team was defeated by Clemson in four sets, 24-26, 25-19, 25-13, 26-24, in Jervey Gymnasium. Senior Tsvetelina Dureva led the Eagles with a .462 hitting percentage behind 15 kills on 26 attempts with just three errors. The Tigers’ attack proved too much for BC to overcome in tight play, as Clemson relied heavily on Moneshia Simmons' .652 attack percentage (16K-1E-23A), as well as Serenat Yaz's .406 (13K-0E-32A) and Kristin Faust .333 (11K-3E-24A). Higgins and McTighe also had efficient nights for the Eagles. Higgins charted a career-high 16 points on a career-mark 14 kills on 25 swings with six errors, while McTighe secured nine kills on 18 attempts with three mishaps. Clark led BC with 11 digs and career-best three aces, while Barnum led all players with 46 assists, orchestrating the Eagles attack that hit .205 on the day.
Oct. 9, 2011 – Atlanta - The Boston College volleyball team fell in straight sets to Georgia Tech, 25-12, 25-21, 25-22, on Sunday afternoon in O'Keefe Gymnasium. Kolosky led the Eagles with 9.5 points behind eight kills and three blocks, while Monique Mead paced the Yellow Jackets with 15 kills on 33 attempts and three errors. Castle matched her teammates kill total and added a team-best 11 digs on top of a service ace, while Barnum dished out a match-high 25 assists, adding seven digs and a kill.
Scouting the Eagles
Boston College enters the weekend hitting .155 and averaging 12.19 kills per game in conference play. The Eagles’ 1.16 aces per set is second best in the ACC.
Clark has been the mainstay of the Eagles back row, delivering an average of 4.91 digs per set, the league’s second highest. Castle and Fields have also been consistent for BC, turning in 3.11 and 2.22 digs each game, respectively.
Dureva leads the Boston College offense with 235 kills and a 2.97 average. Castle is second with 2.41 each game and is third in the conference with 0.34 aces per set. The rookies’ five double-doubles are the third most ever by an Eagles freshman.
Higgins and McTighe are BC’s most efficient hitters, with .240 and .212 percentages respectively. The duo also lead the Eagles in blocking with 72 and 69 stuffs prior to the weekend slate.
Scouting Tech
Georgia Tech is hitting .213 on the season, while allowing opponents to register a .222 attack percentage. The Jackets’ 1.31 aces per game leads the ACC, but their 13.52 digs per set are lowest in the conference. Tech has racked up 196 blocks to date (2.18 bpg).
Led by Mead, who carries the nation’s second highest kills per set average (5.09) and points per set (5.79) into this weekend’s matches, Tech is putting up 13.1 kills per game. After Mead’s 458 kills, Jennifer Percy and Asia Stawicka are looked to most often. The two have 174 and 121 kills, respectively.
Mead is also Tech’s most dangerous block threat, with 76 total stops (0.84 bpg). Stawicka (66), Alexis Woodson (58) and Quinn Evans (48) are also productive at the net.
Susan Carlson leads Georgia Tech from the service line with 26 aces, followed by Kaleigh Colson (24) an Mead (22). Colson (506 assists) and Ali Santi (414 assists) have shared time handling the offense for Tech.
Scouting Clemson
The Tigers’ 2.75 blocks per set and .259 hitting percentage is 15th and 24th best in the country.
Sandra Adelye is the most efficient attacker for Clemson, turning 35.8 percent of her shots into points, the 39th best attack percentage in the NCAA. Setters Hannah Brenner (666 assists) and Kamryn Sherman (356 assists) spread the ball around, as five Tigers have more than 150 kills: Adeleye (302), Serenet Yaz (225), Moneshia Simmons (213), Alexa Rand (194) and Kristin Faust (157).
Sherman leads the team with 23 aces, with Faust (21) and Yaz (20) right behind, while Rand charges the blocking effort with 1.52 stuffs per game, eight highest in the nation.
