Boston College Athletics
Volleyball Heads South To No. 8 FSU And Miami
November 20, 2014 | Volleyball
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -
After a 1-1 weekend on the road, the Eagles are sitting in 9th place in the ACC. Coach Campbell and his team swallowed a tough-five set loss on Friday evening and were victorious in Syracuse on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles now hold their best ACC record with six wins, since 2007 (eight wins). With four matches left to play in the conference, BC has a good chance to reach and possibly surpass eight wins. BC will face nationally ranked Florida State (2nd in ACC) and Miami (4th in ACC) this upcoming weekend.
On The Court For The Eags
This season the BC offense has been firing on all cylinders. While Katty Workman still is the most dominant hitter on the team, some of the weight she carried in previous seasons has been relieved by the likes of fellow outside hitter, Sol Calvete, right side Julia Topor and middle hitters Kam McLain and Anna Skold.
Through the 2014 season, BC has out-killed their opponents 1234-1170. Leading the Eagles’ offense is Workman, who has put away 366 of those balls. Topor has 266 kills and Calvete has recorded 201. Middle hitters McLain and Skold have created a respectable middle attack, forcing opponents to hesitate before heading to the pins for their blocks. McLain averages 1.66 kills per set and Skold averages 1.37. McLain, a mid-season addition to the maroon and gold, has taken the net by storm with her blocks. The Bellevue, Wash. native averages 0.95 blocks per set.
Senior setter Kellie Barnum has 875 assists this season and 3,415 in her career, 209 away from the all-time number one spot. Libero Courtney Castle has 370 digs this season and 1,296 in her career, putting her at third all-time.
Match #26: Boston College (6-8 ACC, 11-14) at Florida State (12-2 ACC, 2-24)
Match Time: Friday, Nov. 21, 2014; 7:00 p.m.
Match Site: Tully Gym; Tallahassee, Fla.
Series Record: Florida State leads, 0-3 (Since 2012)
Last Meeting: Sept. 29, 2013; Florida State 3 - Boston College 0
Figuring Out Florida State
The Seminoles are ranked No. 8 in the most recent AVCA Coaches poll released on Nov. 17. After dropping their first two matches of the season this weekend to ACC opponents Duke and North Carolina, FSU is looking to get back to their winning ways. The two losses put a chink in the Seminoles’ armor, showing that they are not invincible, but the losses will also propel this strong team coming into the match versus Boston College on Friday evening.
FSU is led offensively by junior outside hitter Nicole Walch who has accumulated 397 kills this season in 101 sets played. Walch is ranked fourth in the ACC averaging 3.93 kills per set. Walch has been honored as the ACC Player of the Week three times this season.
The Seminoles split time between their setters, Sarah Wickstrom and Hailey Luke, who have recorded 624 assists and 539 assists, respectively. Middle blockers Sarah Burrington and Kiara Wright hold down FSU’s blocking, both averaging over 1 block per set.
Match #27: Boston College at Miami
Match Time: Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014; 1:00 p.m.
Match Site: James L. Knight Complex; Coral Gables, Fla.
Series Record: Miami leads 20-2 (Since 2002)
Last Meeting: Oct. 12, 2014; Miami 3 - Boston College 0
Matching Up With Miami
Miami boasts some of the most dominant players in the conference, including Savannah Leaf and Hannah Templeton. Templeton has been honored as the ACC Freshman of the Week four times and Leaf has been selected as the ACC Player of the Week three times.
Leaf has 397 kills this season, while the hitter with the second most kills is Taylor Scott with 193. Leaf leads the conference in kills per set (4.88). The Hurricanes’ Emani Sims is ranked fourth in hitting percentage (.371%) and eighth in blocks per set (1.31).
Miami is a strong serving team, with two players currently occupying two of the top ten spots on the service ace conference leader list - Templeton (4th, 0.34/set) and Groot (10th, 0.29/set).
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