Volleyball 9/7/2017 6:11:00 PM

RADFORD VOLLEYBALL SETS SIGHTS ON CAROLINA CLASSIC

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Radford volleyball team looks to carry momentum to Columbia, S.C., this weekend as they take a 6-0 record to the Carolina Classic. The field features Miami (OH), Eastern Kentucky and South Carolina. The first match for the Highlanders will be on Friday at 10 a.m., and ended with a 4 p.m. match.

SETTING THE STAGE
• Location: Carolina Volleyball Center (Columbia, S.C.)
• Time: Miami (OH) – 10 a.m. | Eastern Kentucky – 4 p.m. | South Carolina – 2 p.m. (Saturday)
• Live Stats

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
• The Highlanders are fresh off a 3-0 performance in Tucson, Ariz., in which they took down Grand Canyon (3-2), Eastern Kentucky (3-0) and Arizona (3-2).
• The win over Arizona was Radford's third win over a Pac-12 team since 2014 and fifth Power Five win since 2014.
• The Highlanders begin the 2017 season 6-0 and have started 6-0 for the past two seasons, which ties them for the best start in program history.
• Maddie Palmer, Valerie Gonzalez and Kaylor Nash were named the Cactus Classic All-Tournament team.
• Palmer was named Cactus Classic MVP and Big South Conference Player of the Week – for the second straight week – after recording three double-doubles and totaling 49 kills and 38 digs.
• Radford is leading the Big South with a .248 hitting percentage offensively and holding its opponents to a .117 hitting percentage defensively.
• The Highlanders have 57 total blocks and lead the league averaging 2.48 blocks per set.
• Maci Keaton is averaging a conference-high 1.23 blocks per set, while Palmer has a conference-best 4.39 points per set.
• Radford is receiving 22 votes in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll. It's the first time in school history the volleyball program is receiving votes in any poll.

SCOUTING MIAMI (OH) (4-4)
• Series: Miami (OH) leads 0-1 (Last Meeting: September 10, 2011 | L, 1-3)
• Miami (OH) brings in a 4-4 record with wins over Southern Illinois, Northern Arizona, Xavier and IUPUI.
• The Redhawks have a 0-2 record against teams in a neutral location with losses coming from Marquette and Wichita State.
• Miami (OH) is fourth in the MAC with a .222 hitting percentage but first in kills per set with 14.52.
• Margaret Payne (89), Katie Tomasic (77) and Stela Kukoc (70) have combined for 236 of 421 of the team's kills.
• The Redhawks are also first in assists per set with 13.07 and have 379 on the season.
• The dynamic duo of Mackenzie Zielinski and Morgan Seaman have combined for 332 assists. The team assists leader, Zielinski, is 10 shy of having 200 on the season.

SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY (2-5)
• Series: Eastern Kentucky leads 2-1 (Last Meeting: September 1, 2017 | W, 3-0)
• The Colonels previously played at the Cactus Classic with the Highlanders, but came away with three losses.
• EKU took Grand Canyon into five sets, but fell and lost to Radford and Arizona in three sets.
• The Colonels are led by Nikki Drost with 81 kills and are led defensively by Ciera Koons, who has 29 total blocks this season.
• Rachel Woody is averaging 7.43 assists per set and has 208 assists this season.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA (4-2)
• Series: First Meeting
• South Carolina (4-2) began the season 3-0 with three-set wins over Mercer, Troy and North Florida but went 1-2 in the Duke Invitational this past weekend.
• The Gamecocks lost to Northwestern and UNC-Wilmington but defeated Duke. All matches went into four sets.
• South Carolina has outhit its opponents .275 to .191 and have more 38 more kills.
• Mikayla Shields leads the team with 88 kills and has 4.19 kills per set for the season.
• The Gamecocks are third in the SEC in blocks per set averaging 2.67 and have 84 on the season.
• South Carolina has five players with double-digit blocks. Four of the players are separated by one block. Shields leads the team with 19, followed by Claire Edwards with 18.
• Aubrey Ezell has 91 digs and is third in the SEC averaging 4.33 per set.

UP NEXT
After the Carolina Classic, the Highlanders will play in the New River Valley for the first time in 2017. Radford will participate in the Hokie Invitational on Sept. 15 and face East Tennessee State at 2 p.m., and Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Valerie Gonzalez: RS; 6' 1"; Junior

#18 Kaylor Nash: DS; 5' 9"; Senior

#20 Maddie Palmer: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

#4 Maci Keaton: OH/MB; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#5 Valerie Gonzalez
: 6' 1"; Junior
: RS

#18 Kaylor Nash
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DS

#20 Maddie Palmer
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH

#4 Maci Keaton
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH/MB