Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech’s volleyball team earned its first home victory of the season Friday evening, defeating Wake Forest, 3-0, at Carilion Clinic Court inside Cassell Coliseum behind right side hitter Jaila Tolbert’s 15 kills and .609 hitting percentage.
The junior, for the second match in a row, led the Hokies (8-12, 2-7 ACC) in the kills department, guiding Tech to its second conference victory of the season over the Demon Deacons (10-11, 2-7 ACC).
Knotted at 8-8 to begin the first set, setter Rhegan Mitchell tallied back-to-back aces and Tolbert swatted an attack to force a Wake Forest timeout after the 3-0 run. Out of the break, freshman Ester Talamazzi served the ball in the heart of the defense untouched, earning Tech an ace to cause another Demon Deacon timeout at 18-13. Each team scored seven points apiece from that point on as the Hokies took the first one, 25-20.
Gaining the advantage halfway through the middle frame, Tech led 14-11 to make the Deacs take a pause in action. Play would go back and forth following the break, but the Hokies finished strong making quite the stuff at the net on the final point by senior Cara Cunningham and freshman Kaity Smith to claim it 25-21, leading wire-to-wire.
Tied again, like the first set, at 8-8, the Demon Deacons got hot and went on an 8-2 run to lead 16-10 – their biggest lead of the match (six points). Digging dip to get its first sweep since Sept. 2, Tech chipped away at the deficit after a balanced attack offensively. With the score at 20-18 in Wake Forest’s favor, the Hokies stormed off seven unanswered points to take the final stanza, 25-20.
NOTES
- Tolbert continues to play at an elite level, turning in a team-high 15 kills, tying a season-high four digs and two blocks. The Minnesota native has hit north of .300 in her last six matches. Tolbert hit .609, which is the highest percentage for her since Sept. 9 against Maryland (.625).
- Mitchell dished out 28 assists, while adding six digs, two aces and a crafty kill. The redshirt junior has played well as of late on the defensive end, owning at least six digs or more in her last five matches at the setter position.
- Defensive specialist Rhana Mitchell turned in a career-high three assists and three digs. Her previous high in assists was set on Nov. 18, 2016 versus Boston College.
- Libero Carol Raffety recorded her 12th-straight match of 10-plus digs, scooping up 14 to move her season total to 286. The California native also registered a team-high three service aces, marking her third time doing so in 2017.
- As a team, the Hokies hit .318, which is the highest mark since their first ACC win over Virginia on Sept. 27. Tech has hit over .300 five times this fall and is 5-0 in those matches.
STAT OF THE MATCH
- Tech had its A-game on the service line tonight, recording eight service aces – the most since opening weekend. The eight-ace mark is the second most of the season and the highest total in conference play.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Congratulations to @Jill_HokieVB and @VT_VBall!! #Hokies 🏐 sweeps #WakeForest! pic.twitter.com/bBRBHfiZy1
— HokieFan (@Bluegrass504) October 21, 2017
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will host their second match of the weekend on Sunday as they take on Duke (12-8, 4-5 ACC) at 1 p.m. ET airing on HokieVision Live.