Hokie ClubTALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the second match in a row, Rhegan Mitchell and Ester Talamazzi tallied double-doubles, but the Virginia Tech volleyball team came up short, 3-1, versus No. 19 Florida State inside Tully Gym Sunday afternoon.
Tech (6-7, 0-2 ACC) stood tall with the Seminoles (8-2, 2-0 ACC), winning the second set, its eighth time doing so in 2017, but fell to FSU despite outplaying them statistically in three categories – kills, assists and digs. The Hokies racked up 56 kills, 54 assists and 63 digs compared to the Noles’ 51 kills, 49 assists and 56 digs.
Locked at 11-11 to open up the match, which got pushed back 30 minutes due travel circumstances, Florida State opened it up going on a 5-1 run, forcing a Tech timeout. Throughout the remainder of the set, the Seminoles were tough at the net by earning six blocks, which proved to be the difference in points as FSU won 25-19.
In set two, freshman Marisa Cerchio put on a clinic on how to earn a kill as the Ohio native had back-to-back-to-back kills to push Tech’s lead to 15-10. However, the Seminoles strung together some momentum and came all the way back to tie it at 23-all.
With the pressure on, Cerchio and Stacey Christy jumped together for a crucial block to put Tech up one, 24-23. Now match point, junior Jaila Tolbert came through in the clutch and rattled off a kill to claim the frame, 25-23.
The Seminoles rushed out to a 12-8 lead in the third set, forcing a Tech timeout. Out of the break, FSU kept its motor going and closed it on a 13-7 run to win 25-15, behind Milica Kubara, who put up 20 kills and seven blocks on the night.
In the final frame, Tech cut FSU’s lead to one, 8-7, after a Talamazzi ace – her second of the match and ninth of the season. But that would be the closest the Hokies would get at the deficit as the Noles went on to win the final set, 25-20.
NOTES
- Cerchio is continuing to find her role as a Hokie with the rookie recording her second-straight 11-kill match. Before this weekend, her previous high was seven kills, but now she has tallied 22 kills in her last two matches.
- Mitchell turned in her fourth double-double this fall and 14th of her storied career as the setter dished out 44 assists and 12 digs. The Georgia native racked up 85 assists and 24 digs in her first two ACC matches in 2017.
- Talamazzi posted a career-high 15 kills and 12 digs, marking the freshman’s third double-double of her career. She’s been on a roll as of late, registering 42 kills in her last three matches.
- Libero Carol Raffety had her best performance of the year as the California native had a season-high 21 digs, marking the most since Nov. 6, 2016, versus Clemson (22).
- Tolbert posted exactly 10 kills for the second consecutive match, which is the seventh match this season she has tallied double-digit kills.
- Sophomore Abby McKinzie scooped up eight digs, the most for the defensive specialist since Sept. 1 against Arkansas State when she had nine.
STAT OF THE MATCH
- Tech had three players reach double-digit kills in Talamazzi (15), Cerchio (11) and Tolbert (10), marking the fifth time this fall that the Hokies have had three players have 10 or more kills in a match. The trio had the exact amount of kills in the last match in Tech’s clash with RV Miami (Fla.) this past Friday.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Set 2 | Oh my! 😲
— VT Volleyball (@VT_VBall) September 24, 2017
Cerchio registers three kills in a row❗️
The freshman is up to eight kills 👀
#Hokies 🏐 up 15-10
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will stay in the state of Virginia on Wednesday, as they head to Charlottesville to take on the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET for their first mid-week match of the season.