Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – In its first match in the month of November, the Virginia Tech volleyball squad was defeated by Georgia Tech, 3-0, at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum Friday evening.
The Hokies (8-16, 2-11 ACC) out-blocked the Yellow Jackets (12-12, 7-6 ACC) six to five, behind three blocks apiece from redshirt senior Stacey Christy and junior Jaila Tolbert. Christy has racked up nine blocks her last three matches, while Tolbert has swatted eight.
The Yellow Jackets started the match with some momentum, leading 12-7 after back-to-back aces from Ashley Askin to force a Virginia Tech timeout. Out of the break, the Hokies scored four points and then the duo of Tolbert and Christy stopped one at the net and Tolbert turned in a solo block before Raffety earned her first kill since Sept. 24 to cut the deficit to one, 15-14. Georgia Tech would go on a 5-2 run, before Virginia Tech made one of its own to trail 23-22, before the Yellow Jackets scored the next two points to win 25-22.
To begin the middle frame, Georgia Tech again started with the advantage. Trailing 10-8, the Hokies knotted it all up at 13-13 led by three kills in a row by three different players – Rhegan Mitchell, Kaity Smith and Marisa Cerchio. Play would seesaw from then on until Georgia Tech gained a slim advantage at 20-19, and then would score five more points to win by the exact score of the first set, 25-22.
Virginia Tech started the final stanza with a 10-8 lead, following kills three kills from Tolbert and Melody Caloyannides’ first kill of the season to force a Georgia Tech timeout. The Yellow Jackets would go on a 9-3 run, forcing a Hokie timeout. Georgia Tech would keep its energy flowing as it went on to win 25-19.
NOTES
- Mitchell posted her fourth-straight match of tallying two or more blocks, while handing out 30 assists and recording eight digs and four kills. The setter has snuck in 15 kills her last four matches.
- Libero Carol Raffety registered her 16th-straight match of 10-plus digs, scooping up 12. The sophomore also chipped in two assists.
- Tolbert hit north of .400 for the ninth time this fall (.474), registering 10 kills, three blocks and a dig. The Minnesota native has cracked the 10-kill plateau eight times out of her last nine matches.
- Cerchio pounded down eight kills, marking her most since Oct. 8 versus Notre Dame. The freshman also had six digs, which is also the most for her since Oct. 8, and a block.
- Caloyannides played the best match of her career since arriving in Blacksburg in 2016, as she put down a career-high four kills on a .364 hitting percentage, while notching a season-high two digs and an assist.
STAT OF THE MATCH
- Fourteen Virginia Tech student-athletes played tonight, marking the most in ACC play and tying the most in a match this season (Ole Miss, Sept. 1).
TWEET OF THE DAY
Huge S/O to @VTCorpsofCadets for coming to our match tonight! 👊
— VT Volleyball (@VT_VBall) November 4, 2017
Thanks for cheering us on #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/8U24zeSnhx
WHAT IS NEXT
The Hokies will be back inside Cassell Coliseum on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET to take on Clemson (7-18, 2-11 ACC).