Eagles Ready for Rematches with Syracuse, Pittsburgh

Wednesday, October 11

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

5:00 PM

Boston College

Syracuse

Eagles Ready for Rematches with Syracuse, Pittsburgh

October 10, 2017 | Volleyball

The matches will take place on Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon

By: Athletic Communications

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Following a two-victory weekend at home, the Boston College volleyball team will try for two more wins this week, hosting Syracuse on Wednesday and Pittsburgh on Sunday, at 5 p.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. BC has met both teams already this season.

The Eagles dominated Georgia Tech last Friday, 3-1, and swept Clemson last Sunday, 3-0, to garner their first 2017 ACC triumphs. Graduate Lynn Braakhuis notched 27 kills on the weekend, hitting .366. Her performance was awarded with the Eagle of the Week honor. Sophomore Jane DeJarld registered 44 assists this past weekend and now leads the squad with 383 on the season. Sophomore Jill Strockis recorded 24 digs, while freshman Amaka Chukwujekwu added 11 blocks to her team-high 51 blocks on the season.

"We've got a really young team, so every week is about trying to help players improve their individual games," said head coach Chris Campbell when asked about the previous weekend's performance. "We've actually been seeing that for a number of weeks. On any given match, there will be some players or some positions were the game could be raised up a level, but this weekend was the first time we had numerous players in different positions do it at the same time. That's how it works. Improvement doesn't happen on a steady uptick. There are always ups and downs, or two steps forward and one step back. I think we're getting far enough along now that we can count on having more and more players executing at the level we need to for success in the ACC. It's not a finished product yet but we're definitely improving."

Syracuse picked up the W in the pair's first meeting, 3-1, and leads the all-time record over BC, 31-10. The Orange sit at an overall record of 13-6 and 5-1 in conference play, their only loss coming at Pittsburgh. Last season, the Eagles picked up a 3-1 over the Orange at home and are hoping to snap Syracuse's four-game win streak with another win at Power Gym.

The Orange is led by junior Santita Ebangwese with 168 kills on the season, 11 of which she tallied during the last Orange-Eagles meet up. Junior Annie Bozzo paces Syracuse with 327 assists and senior Belle Sand records 248 digs on the season.

Pittsburgh will play Syracuse Friday before heading to Boston College. Currently the Panthers hold a 13-4 overall record and are undefeated in conference play, 6-0, which plays into their current 10-game win streak. In their last paring, Pittsburgh downed BC, 3-1, and the Eagles were unsuccessful at home against the Panthers last season.

Sophomore Nika Markovic's 212 kills on the season lead Pittsburgh, including the 17 kills registered against BC earlier this season. Junior Kamalani Akeo paces the Panthers with 642 assists, while redshirt junior Angela Seman has notched 221 digs.

"Since playing them, they have both done very well," Campbell said. "They present very different challenges, very different styles of play. Syracuse is a bit higher. They're a little bit bigger, a little bit bigger block. Pitt's offense has a much faster tempo. There are very different styles of play. We've got to execute different things to be successful against them."

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