Hokie ClubCHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – On the final day of its trip to the Northeast, the Virginia Tech volleyball team was defeated, 3-1, by Boston College inside Power Gym Sunday afternoon.
Tech (8-15, 2-10 ACC) blocked a season-high 12 attacks against the Eagles (6-16, 3-9 ACC) and three players racked up over 10-plus digs in Rhegan Mitchell (14), Kaity Smith (13) and Carol Raffety (13).
The Hokies got out of the gate hot, leading 13-8 to cause a Boston College timeout. After the pause in play, the Eagles responded with a 4-0 run, however, Smith got a kill to stop the run and freshman Kai Young and co. blocked four in a row to push Tech’s lead to 21-14. The Hokies would go on to win the opening set 25-18.
With the score knotted at 8-8 to begin the second frame, the Eagles would go on a 7-4 run bringing the score to 15-12 at the media timeout. From that point forward, BC scored 10 of the next 12 points to take the stanza 25-14.
Just like the second set, play began with scored tied at eight. The two teams would go back and forth leading up to the media timeout, before BC gained a slim lead at 15-13. Out of the break, the Eagles scored five of the next six points to force a Tech timeout. Head coach Jill Wilson’s team rallied back and cut the deficit to three after a 4-0 run, but BC finished on a run of its own to claim the third frame 25-19.
In the final stanza, the Hokies got out to a 7-4 lead after a Kelly Esch kill – her first since Sept. 16. Tech would keep its three-point lead all the way up to 19-16, before the Eagles scored three unanswered to tie it all up at 19, forcing a Tech timeout. After numerous rallies and a couple ties to end the set, BC edged Tech by two to win it 25-23 and the match.
NOTES
- Mitchell, a setter, once again brought it on the defensive end, tying a season-high 14 digs and two blocks, while dishing out 32 assists. The redshirt junior has owned six or more digs in her last eight matches, and posted her seventh double-double of the season.
- Raffety registered her 15th-straight match of 10-plus digs, scooping up 13. The California native also chipped in four assists. She has racked up 22 assists over her last five matches at the libero position.
- Right side hitter Jaila Tolbert filled the stat sheet today, recording 12 kills, four blocks and an assist, while tying a season-high four digs. Tolbert has cracked the 10-kill plateau seven times out of her last eight matches.
- Smith pounded down a team-high 14 kills and had 13 digs, posting the fourth double-double of her career. The Kentucky native also registered three blocks to set a new career high.
- Young played arguably her best performance of the season, setting two career highs in kills (7) and blocks (7). The North Carolina native has had a knack for swats at the net recently, standing tall for 16 blocks her last five matches.
STAT OF THE MATCH
- For the first time in 2017, the Hokies racked up a season-high 12 blocks, topping the previous mark set twice of 11 versus Ole Miss and Milwaukee.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Set 1 | Access denied! 🙅#Hokies 🏐 block three in a row to extend their lead to 19-14, TO BC
— VT Volleyball (@VT_VBall) October 29, 2017
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will head back to Blacksburg to host Georgia Tech (11-12, 6-6 ACC) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET and Clemson (7-17, 2-10 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m.