BIG SOUTH HEAVYWEIGHTS TO CLASH IN CONFERENCE OPENER

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RADFORD, Va. – A rivalry between two volleyball programs that have combined for five of the past seven Big South titles will take center stage Friday at 7 p.m. inside the Vines Center as Radford and Liberty open conference action.

The 70^th meeting between the two Commonwealth foes is a highly-anticipated rematch of last year's 3-2 thriller in the Big South semifinals, which Radford won to go on and capture its fifth conference tournament crown.

Despite the Lady Flames leading the all-time series, 42-27, RU claimed two of the three meetings last season. The Highlanders' victory over Liberty on Sept. 27 of last year snapped a 24-match winning streak by LU in the series.

SCOUTING THE LADY FLAMES
Liberty enters the match with a 12-5 record following its 3-2 triumph over Virginia Tuesday night. The victory marked the first time the Lady Flames defeated UVa since Nov. 1, 1979. LU has won three matches in a row and eight of its last 10.

There are two common opponents between Liberty and RU. The Lady Flames were edged (3-2) by Maryland in their second match of the season, while Radford outlasted the Terrapins in five sets. Northern Kentucky is the other foe both teams have faced. NKU defeated both the Highlanders and Liberty in four sets.

Friday night's contest will feature two of the Big South's top volleyball players in the Lady Flames' Caroline Douglas and Radford's Rachel Wiechecki. Douglas was the 2012 Big South player and freshman of the year, but an injury in 2013 hindered the Greenville, N.C., native from reaching her full potential. It seems the redshirt junior is well on her way back to her 2012 form as she leads the Liberty attack with 4.06 kills per set. Douglas hammered down 27 kills against UVa, which were two off her career high.

Hannah Weidner, a two-time Big South freshman of the week in 2014, is right behind Douglas at 3.34 kills per set. Caila Stapleton is in her first year managing the offense with the graduation of former Liberty standout Jade Craycraft. The 6-foot setter has 592 assists for the season. In addition, she has used her height as a dual-threat option, dumping over 43 kills.

Anchoring the backline is Gabrielle Shipe, who digs 4.49 attacks per set. At the net, Jade Vorster delivers 1.18 blocks per set. Vorster is in her first season with Liberty, having transferred from Hawaii where she was an all-conference performer.

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN
A trio of Highlanders enter their senior campaigns with program records in their sights. Rachel Wiechecki, who became Radford's first AVCA all-region honoree last December, broke Divona Cox's rally-scoring kills record of 1,066 against N.C. Central.

In addition, Wiechecki became the program's sixth 1,000-1,000 performer at RU's season-opening tournament in Morehead, Ky. Wiechecki has accumulated 1,186 kills and 1,146 digs during her time at RU. She joined Anne Jackson, Anne Fontaine, Ami Orr, Katie Sherwood and Laura Marcuson as the only Highlanders to accomplish the milestone.

The Wilmington, Del. native has the potential to chase down the rally-scoring digs record, which is held by former teammate, Katelyn Meeks (1,506). Wiechecki also ranks second in aces at 132. Kiley Kent owns the rally-scoring record with 174.

Meanwhile, Emma Deininger is well within reach of the rally-scoring blocks record (378), which also belongs to Cox. Deininger, who is coming off a junior campaign where she set the single-season record (145), only needs five to eclipse the mark.

Senior setter Jena Braden is climbing the rally-scoring era's Top-10 chart for assists. The New Knoxville, Ohio native currently has 2,671, which rank second in program history.

CLIMB TO 100
Marci Jenkins, a two-time Big South coach of the year, earned her 100^th victory at Radford in the Highlanders' 3-0 sweep of UNC Wilmington. Since her arrival in 2008, RU has won a Big South regular-season and tournament title, qualified for the NCAA tournament, and had a Big South player of the year, freshman of the year, tournament MVP and scholar-athlete of the year.

ON DECK
Radford heads to Johnson City, Tenn. for its final nonconference match of the season against East Tennessee State. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

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