CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) - The final week of Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball competition kicks off Wednesday, November 27, when nine schools hit the court. The midweek matchups mark the first of the final 18 conference matches of the season.
Pitt and Louisville remain the only two ACC schools with one loss in conference action. The No. 1 Panthers swept Wake Forest and NC State last week to move to 27-1 on the season and 17-1 in conference play. The Cardinals defeated Virginia and Virginia Tech to move to 25-3 overall while matching Pitt’s 17-1 conference record. Pitt has now been ranked No. 1 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25 for 12 consecutive weeks while Louisville stays at No. 3, its highest ranking of the season, for the third straight week. The No. 1 Panthers and No. 3 Cardinals will go head-to-head on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ACCN, with the winner claiming at least a share of the 2024 ACC Volleyball Championship.
The ACC will feature five total ranked matchups this week. On Wednesday, No. 10 SMU will head to No. 21 Florida State at noon ET on ACCNX and No. 6 Stanford travels to No. 19 Georgia Tech at 3 p.m. ET on ACCNX. On Saturday, No. 10 Georgia Tech will take on No. 1 Pitt at 1 p.m. ET on ACCNX and No. 3 Louisville will head to No. 6 Stanford at 4 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
Seven ACC teams are ranked in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25, headlined by Pitt (No. 1) and Louisville (No. 3) in the top five. The seven ranked teams are tied for the most from the ACC this season and tied for the most of any conference this week.
Weekly Schedule (All Times Eastern Time)
Wednesday, November 27
#10 SMU at #21 Florida State | 12 p.m. | ACCNX
California at Syracuse | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
Clemson at Boston College | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Miami at NC State | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Virginia at #25 North Carolina | 2 p.m. | ACCNX
Wake Forest at Duke | 3 p.m. | ACCNX
#6 Stanford at #19 Georgia Tech | 3 p.m. | ACCNX
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech | 6:30 p.m. | ACCNX
#1 Pitt at #3 Louisville | 7 p.m. | ACCN
Friday, November 29
#21 Florida State at Wake Forest | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
Syracuse at Virginia Tech | 1:30 p.m. | ACCNX
Duke at Miami | 3 p.m. | ACCNX
#25 North Carolina at Clemson | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
Saturday, November 30
Boston College at Virginia | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
#19 Georgia Tech at #1 Pitt | 1 p.m. | ACCNX
Notre Dame at California | 4 p.m. | ACCNX
#3 Louisville at #6 Stanford | 4 p.m. | ACCNX
NC State at #10 SMU | 8 p.m. | ACCNX
Noting ACC Volleyball
• Overall, ACC teams are a combined 142-44 (.762) on the season against non-conference opponents, headlined by a 19-9 record against Top 25 opponents.
• The ACC is 37-28 against Power-4 conferences with an above .500 record against all P4 leagues (14-13 vs. Big Ten, 10-5 vs. Big 12 and 13-10 vs. SEC).
• Pitt (27-1) is one of three teams nationally with one loss on the season.
• Seven ACC teams are in the latest AVCA/TARFLEX Coaches Poll, tied for the most from the league this season. The seven teams are tied for the most of any conference this week.
• Pitt is No. 1 in the AVCA/TARFLEX Coaches Poll for the 12th straight week. Louisville and Stanford follow the Panthers at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, as the ACC has at least two teams in the top five for the 13th straight week. SMU stays at No. 10 while Georgia Tech moves to No.19. Florida State moves up to No. 21 while North Carolina finds its way back into the rankings at No. 25. Miami received votes.
• Miami junior outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colon and Florida State senior middle blocker Khori Louis were named the Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Co-Offensive Players of the Week, while Stanford senior middle blocker Sami Francis was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week for matches played November 18-24. Additionally, Miami redshirt freshman Ariana Rodriguez was named the ACC Setter of the Week, while Louisville setter Nayelis Cabello was tabbed the ACC Freshman of the Week.
• The SMU was ranked for the first time in program history at No. 22 on September 16. Defeating No. 1 Pitt on October 12 was also the highest ranked win in program history.
• The ACC had 11 players drafted in the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft on Monday, November 25, headlined by Louisville’s Anna DeBeer, who was drafted second overall to Indy Ignite, and Florida State’s Khouri Louis, who was drafted sixth overall to the Atlanta Vibe. Louisville’s Elena Scott, and SMU’s Naya Shime and Natalie Foster were drafted in the second round. Florida State’s Taylor Head, SMU’s Maya Tabron and Louisville’s Charitie Luper were selected in the third round. Stanford’s Elena Oglivie and Pitt’s Valerie Vazquez-Gomez were drafted in the fourth round, while Georgia Tech’s Bianca Bertolino was taken in the fifth and final round.
• Stanford senior Kami Miner became the first active ACC player to surpass 4,000 career assists. Miner currently ranks fifth nationally among active Division I setters with 4,905 assists. SMU’s Celia Cullen became the second active ACC player to surpass 4,000 career assists and currently has 4,582. Georgia Tech’s Luanna Emiliano was the third with 4,460 and North Carolina’s Taylor Eisert was the fourth with 4,021.
• Notre Dame’s Phyona Schrader is one of four players in the ACC that has recorded a triple-double this season. Schrader is No. 2 in the nation with 12 on the season while Pitt’s Olivia Babcock, Miami’s Ariana Rodriguez and Virginia Tech’s Victoria Wahlgren all have one on the year.
• Boston College’s Julia Haggerty leads the nation in both total blocks (212) and blocks per set (1.96).
• 14 ACC standouts were named to the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Watch List. The list included Audrey King (Florida State), Taylor Head (Florida State), Khori Louis (Florida State), Bianca Bertolino (Georgia Tech), Anna DeBeer (Louisville), Elena Scott (Louisville), Charitie Luper (Louisville), Olivia Babcock (Pitt), Rachel Fairbanks (Pitt), Torrey Stafford (Pitt), Celia Cullen (SMU), Naya Shime (SMU), Elia Rubin (Stanford) and Kami Miner (Stanford).
• Pitt’s Babcock, Fairbanks and Stafford, Louisville’s Elena Scott and Stanford’s Kami Miner were named as semifinalists for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year award.
• Coming off its third straight Final Four appearance a season ago, Pitt was named the preseason favorite to win the 2024 ACC Volleyball Championship following a vote of the league’s head coaches. The Panthers received 13 first-place votes and 285 total points, 17 points ahead of conference newcomer Stanford (268), which earned three first-place votes and 20 points ahead of Louisville (265), which garnered two first-place votes.
• All four of last season’s ACC yearly award winners landed on the 2024 Preseason All-ACC Team, as ACC Co-Players of the Year Anna DeBeer of Louisville and Audrey Koenig of Florida State joined Louisville’s Elena Scott and Pitt’s tandem of Rachel Fairbanks and Olivia Babcock.
• In the last three seasons, the ACC is the only conference to send at least one team to each Final Four. During that stretch, the ACC also leads the way, sending five teams to the Final Four in total.
• Pitt was the lone ACC representative at the 2023 National Semifinals, as the Panthers are the only team in the country to advance to the last three Final Fours.
• The ACC returned nine players who were named AVCA All-Americans a season ago, including first-team selections Olivia Babcock (Pitt), Rachel Fairbanks (Pitt) and Kami Miner (Stanford).
• Florida State’s Chris Poole ranks second among active coaches with 938 victories in 38 seasons. Poole led the Seminoles to 28 wins a season ago and a share of the ACC regular-season title. Duke’s Jolene Nagel ranks eighth on that list with 711 wins.
• With its victory over Notre Dame on November 10, Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam posted his 200th career victory. Ganesharatnam is one of nine active ACC coaches with 200 career wins.
• With its victory over No. 1 Texas on September 7, Miami head coach Keno Gandara posted his 200th career victory. Gandara is one of nine active ACC coaches with 200 career wins.
• The Sunday, September 22, matchup featuring Louisville and Nebraska was the most-watched regular season volleyball match ever on ESPN Platforms with 684,000 viewers. It is the second most-watched regular season volleyball telecast on any network, peaking at 808,000 viewers.
• ACC Network is scheduled to feature 20 matches this season. More than 2,600 matches will be broadcast on ESPN platforms this season, the highest total in ESPN history.