Hokie ClubJONESBORO, Ark. – In the night cap Friday evening, the Hokies’ volleyball squad found their groove against the hosting team at the A-State Invitational, Arkansas State, winning 3-1 inside the Convocation Center.
Virginia Tech (4-1) stays perfect on the year in the second set, though, it had to make quite the comeback versus the Red Wolves (2-3) in frame two.
To start things off in its home opener, Arkansas State took the first set, 25-18, despite Tech cutting a six-point lead to three, 17-14, before A-State went on an 8-4 run to close.
Once again, the Red Wolves jumped out to an early advantage, leading 5-1 in set two. They would push their lead to 15-10, but the Hokies, behind Jaila Tolbert and Ester Talamazzi each chipping in two kills apiece, rattled off a 9-3 run to take a one-point lead, 19-18, before Arkansas State burned a timeout.
Tech would lose the lead following the break, trailing 21-20, however, Kaity Smith got hot and recorded three kills in the next five points to swing the momentum.
Going into set three tied 1-1, the Hokies’ defense came to play as they held the Red Wolves to a .051 clip. The score was tied 18-all before Tech finished strong with a 7-2 run to take the third set, 25-20.
Set four was where Tech saw its biggest lead of the match, leading 17-11. It did not relinquish that advantage, winning 25-21 in the final frame.
NOTES
- Tech, for the fifth-straight match, had three or more tally at least eight kills in a match – Smith (15), Talamazzi (11) and Tolbert (12).
- Smith led all Hokies in the kills category, marking the third time she has done so. Cara Cunningham led all players versus South Dakota State on Aug. 25 and Talamazzi had the team-high against Ole Miss earlier today.
- Libero Carol Raffety posted exactly 14 digs in the first and second match today, racking up 28 on the day.
- Kylie Thomas, who made her debut earlier in the morning against Ole Miss, played in all four sets and did not disappoint, tallying 13 digs to set her career high.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Tech played arguably its best defensive match of the season, holding the Red Wolves under a .160 hitting percentage in three sets. In all of the sets, it was the lowest percentage the Hokies have held an opponent so far this season (.103).
QUOTING JILL LYTLE WILSON
"I was very proud, I think today was a very important day for our team. We were obviously disappointed in the match earlier against Ole Miss with getting out ahead and not finishing, but I really think they took the lessons they learned and made those changes tonight with buying into the game plan and executing."
TWEET OF THE DAY
— Cheri (@AdamantHokie) September 2, 2017
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will be back at the Convocation Center tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET, taking on SMU, which is 1-0 in the A-State Invitational after defeating Ole Miss, 3-1.