WISE – The UVA Wise volleyball team only has one match this week, but it's an important one as they begin South Atlantic Conference play Friday evening at Limestone. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from the Timken Center in Gaffney, South Carolina.

This match is the first of a two-game road SAC road swing through the Carolinas before they return to the David J. Prior Convocation Center to host Coker on September 27. Originally, the team was scheduled to have their SAC opener at home on Sept. 10, against Tusculum, but that match was moved to later this season.

GETTING WISE
- The team is currently 5-3 on the season after eight matches, which is the best start of the program's NCAA era (2012-present). The best start in program history was the 2004 team, who overcame a 2-2 first week of play to roll off a school-record 15 match win streak.
- This team to date is one of the better defensive teams in program history, as they have only lost eleven sets thus far this season. And seven of those were by four points or less. They are currently holding their opponents to a .125 attack percentage.
- Their defense begins up front, where fifth-year player Cassidy Farley's 25 blocks lead the way as three other players have double-digit blocks this season (and one more knocking on the door). Farley is 12 blocks away from tying the NCAA era record of 281 set by Santana Bishop (2013-16).
- Abigail Curtis leads the team with 129 total digs and an average of 4.78 digs per set. That ranks her fifth and fourth in the SAC respectively in those stats. Second on the team is Kaylee Scarce, who has 89 for a 3.30 digs per set average.
- Kamryn Livingston leads the team and the SAC in service aces per set with 0.61 per set. Farley is 14^th with 0.31 aces a set.
- Offensively, Scarce leads the team with 3.07 kills a set, followed closely by Riley Brandon's 2.31 average. They are getting those totals via assists from Piper Suddeth (4.26 assists per set) and Lily Gutierrez (3.81 aps). Suddeth is 13^th in the SAC, while Gutierrez ranks 18^th.

SCOUTING LIMESTONE
- After playing against three teams with "Saint" in their name last weekend, the Cavs now face another set of Saints, this time in the Saints of Limestone University. This will be the eighth meeting between the two schools since Limestone joined the SAC, and the saints own a 7-0 advantage in the series.
- LU enters the match with a 2-3 overall record and a 1-1 record in the SAC after travelling to Anderson Tuesday evening and sacking the Trojans by a 3-1 score. Their SAC loss was to Coker last Friday by a 3-2 margin in the Timken Center.
- Mia McMillen leads the team with an average of 3.00 kills a set (63 total), while Josie Curran has 51 kills (2.43 kps).
- Jenna Szabelski leads the offense with 88 assists, while Kamden Dalton has 50.
- Defensively, Chloe Ratliff anchors the front line with 17 blocks. McMillen and Sarah Konovodoff have 65 and 62 digs on the season, respectively.
- The Saints are hitting .148 while their opponents are hitting .241. They are also averaging 2,1 kills a set less than the competition. Opponents also have the advantage in digs by a 15.9 dps to 14.4 dps margin.

UP NEXT
Next week the schedule ramps up for UVA Wise as they will have three SAC matches in five days, with two of those being on the road. They travel to Wingate, North Carolina, to face the Bulldogs on Sept. 24 before returning back to Wise for the SAC home opener on the Quillen Court on Sept. 27. They then make the trip across Clinch Mountain and down the Holston River to play Carson-Newman the next day.

You can keep up to date with the Highland Cavs on www.UVAWiseCavs.com