Hokie ClubCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Under the guidance of first-year head coach Jill Wilson, the Virginia Tech volleyball team defeated Virginia, 3-1, to earn its first ACC win of the year inside Memorial Gymnasium Wednesday evening.
Tech (7-7, 1-2 ACC) was firing on all cylinders against the Cavaliers (4-10, 0-3 ACC), winning its three sets by a combined score of 26 points. The Hokies gained half a point in the Commonwealth Clash.
Jumping out to a 13-8 advantage in its ACC home opener, Virginia pushed its lead even further at 19-14, forcing a Tech timeout. Out of the break, the Hokies stormed back cutting the deficit to one, 20-19, causing a Cavalier timeout. Trading back and forth up until match point, UVA closed set one on a 3-0 run to win 27-25.
With a sense of urgency, Tech rattled off an 8-2 lead to open the second stanza. Keeping the momentum, it pushed its lead to 17-4 before a Virginia timeout. From then on, the Hokies scored eight more points to claim it 25-10 as they led wire-to-wire.
The Cavaliers’ 10 points were the fewest Tech had let up in a set all season, topping the previous mark of South Dakota State’s 12 points in set two on Aug. 25.
In the second-straight set, the Hokies built another advantage early on, leading 13-8. The lead would continue to increase as outside hitter Ester Talamazzi carried the Hokies, nailing down eight kills alone in the third set to help Tech win 25-18.
Set four was a back and forth affair as there were five ties and three lead changes. Trailing 9-3 before the Hokies had to burn a timeout, Tech regrouped and went on an 8-1 run to take the lead 10-11 – and never looked back.
Similar to set three when Talamazzi stole the show, the final frame consisted of freshman Marisa Cerchio having a set of her own, racking up exactly eight kills like Talamazzi. The Hokies would go on to win the last set, 25-21, and the match.
The Tech-UVA volleyball game was presented by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. The score for the "Commonwealth Clash" is now 1-.5 in favor of Virginia. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at www.thecommonwealthclash.com.
NOTES
- Seniors Stacey Christy and Cara Cunningham recorded fine performances at the middle blocker position. The duo combined for 13 kills and only two errors. Christy recorded six kills and Cunningham tallied seven, the most for her since Aug. 25 against South Dakota State (12).
- Setter Rhegan Mitchell posted her third-straight match of 40 or more assists, dishing out 42 assists tonight against the Cavaliers, in addition to having four kills for the second match in a row.
- Talamazzi posted her third-straight double-double (16 kills, 16 digs), marking the fourth of her career. The 16 kills are a new career high, while the 16 digs tied a season high. The Italy native had her highest hitting percentage (.361) since Aug. 25 versus South Dakota State (.462).
- Cerchio set a new career high in kills, racking up 12 on the evening. The Ohio native has been in the zone as of late, putting up 34 kills in her last three matches, which have all been in ACC competition, respectively.
- Tech as a team hit a clip of .339, marking its best hitting percentage since Sept. 9 in its win over Toledo, when it hit exactly .339 as well.
STAT OF THE MATCH
- Wilson, out of the four new head coaches in the ACC, was the first to win an ACC match on the road.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Congratulations to our team & to @Jill_HokieVB on your 1st ACC win as Head Coach! Pretty darn good 'W' to start with 👊🏽🦃 🏐 💥 https://t.co/KdPdQar87x
— Whit Babcock (@WhitBabcock) September 28, 2017
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will hit the road for the fourth match in a row heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m., closing the second weekend of ACC play.