Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – In front of 2,361 fans in attendance at Carilion Clinic Court inside Cassell Coliseum, the Hokies’ volleyball team claimed the first set, but fell to Louisville, 3-1, Friday evening.
The record crowd is the most at home for Virginia Tech since Oct. 15, 2010, when the Hokies took on Wake Forest (2,574). Tonight's crowd is the fourth-most all-time in school history.
Tech (7-9, 1-4 ACC) came out with some energy against the Cardinals (10-5, 4-1 ACC), starting the match with a 5-2 lead after a Jaila Tolbert kill. Tech wouldn’t relinquish the advantage the rest of the frame, as it led wire-to-wire behind Rhegan Mitchell’s 14 assists. It marked the first time the Hokies won the first set since Sept. 9 versus Toledo. Tech hit .406, while holding the Cards to a .059 hitting percentage.
Knotted at 9-9 to begin the second stanza, the Cardinals, who boast the best RPI in the ACC, scored 11 of the next 12 points to take an 18-10 lead, causing a Tech timeout. The two teams would then score seven points apiece to close the set, 25-17.
Trailing 5-0 after the two squads headed to the locker room, the two sides would run off 10 points each to make it 15-10. UofL tacked on a few more, but Tech responded with a run of its own with kills by middle blockers Marisa Cerchio and Cara Cunningham forcing a Louisville timeout at the 22-17 mark. The Cards would extend their lead, though, winning 25-19 in the third stanza.
The fourth set started just like the second frame with both teams tied at 9-all. The Cardinals would score four-straight before the Hokies called a timeout. After the pause in action, Louisville kept the momentum pushing its lead to 19-13, however, head coach Jill Wilson’s squad ran off four points in a row to cut the deficit to two, 19-17, so UofL took a timeout. Stopping the momentum, the Cards ran away out of the break scoring the next six points to win 25-17.
NOTES
- Mitchell tallied her fifth double-double of the season and 15th of her career. The Georgia native dished out 46 assists, her most since opening weekend, and posted 13 digs.
- Freshman Ester Talamazzi turned in a double-double as well, racking up 11 kills and digs. It marks the fourth double-double of her last five matches.
- Outside hitter Kaity Smith made her return tonight at that position and didn’t disappoint, pounding down 11 kills and manufacturing seven digs.
- Tolbert registered a season-high 15 kills, her most since Sept. 9 against Toledo (14), with only two errors to hit a team-high .481, while chipping in four digs.
- Libero Carol Raffety recorded her eighth-straight match of 10-plus digs, scooping up 16 tonight. The California native has tallied 42 digs in her last three matches.
- Redshirt senior Stacey Christy posted eight kills on 16 attempts to hit .438, her highest percentage since Sept. 9 in Tech’s win over Toledo.
- Defensively, the Hokies held in check the reigning ACC Player of the Week, Melanie McHenry, to a .122 clip, marking her second-lowest hitting percentage in conference play.
STAT OF THE MATCH
- For the seventh time this year and second in ACC play, the Hokies had three players have over 10 kills, including Smith (15), Talamazzi (11) and Tolbert (11). On the other end, Tech has only let its opponents do that twice, Milwaukee and Ole Miss, in its 16 matches this season.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Huge S/O to #HokieNation 🦃
— VT Volleyball (@VT_VBall) October 7, 2017
Attendance: 2⃣3⃣6⃣1⃣
Most since 2009! 👏#VenTure #HokiesForHokies pic.twitter.com/dDO5KxWvjG
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will play their sixth ACC match of the season at home against RV Notre Dame on Sunday at noon ET.