Hokie Club
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sophomore Kaity Smith turned in a double-double to guide Virginia Tech's volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Presbyterian on Saturday inside Halton Arena in the Charlotte Invitational.
The Kentucky native racked up 13 kills and 15 digs to give the Hokies (2-0) their second win of the season. Presbyterian (0-3) was paced by Trinity Williams, who tallied nine kills, six digs and a block.
Trailing 9-4 in the first set, Tech took a timeout and responded with scoring four straight points to cut the deficit to one after a kill by Smith. The Hokies would gain the lead 14-13 and would not surrender it, winning 25-22 on a combination block by sophomores Ester Talamazzi and Kai Young.
Tech kicked things into gear to start the second frame, going up 7-2 to force a Presbyterian timeout. It would extend its lead to 14-3, forcing PC to burn another timeout after back-to-back aces by junior Carol Raffety and a kill from Talamazzi. Tech would go on to close it 25-11, marking its widest margin of victory in a set this year.
Similar to the second set, the Hokies started strong in the third stanza by jumping out to a 9-4 lead. The Blue Hose would come back, though, tying it up at 15-15. Things would seesaw the following points with each team going on a 3-0 run and the other taking a timeout to lead up to the 18-all mark. Tech finished on a 7-4 run punctuated by a block assist from Young and senior Jaila Tolbert to win it, 25-22.
NOTES
- Smith posted her second straight match of hitting north of .400, as the outside hitter hit a clip of .480. The double-double was the sixth of her career and first of the 2018 season.
- Talamazzi registered eight kills, 13 digs and two blocks on the day. The 13 digs marked the Italy native's most since she posted 15 against Virginia on Nov. 22, 2017.
- Setter Rhegan Mitchell dished out 23 assists, topping her mark of 14 yesterday in Tech's win over USC Upstate. The redshirt senior also scooped up six digs.
- Sophomore Marisa Cerchio recorded seven kills, four blocks and three service aces. The three aces were a career high for the middle blocker.
- Libero Carol Raffety was strong on the service line, too, recording two aces, as well as five digs and assists.
- Freshman Tessa Wyner competed in her first collegiate match and dished out an assist.
- Tech once again had more blocks than its opponent, swatting seven compared to PC's six. The Hokies held the Blue Hose to a .089 hitting percentage, marking their second straight match of not allowing their opponent to hit over .100.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JILL WILSON
"I think our outsides, Kaity [Smith] and Ester [Talamazzi], did some really good things," Wilson said. "Ester played a complete game today and played really smart. Kaity had some huge kills, and for an outside to hit .480, that's a very high percentage.
"I think we still have a lot of things we have to work on, that consistent level of how we approach each point. That is something that we'll definitely have to keep working on.
"That's the mentality we have to work on as a team is how we approach each point, it should be the same. Sometimes, when you have a younger team, that's not always the case. But I truly believe that this team will get to that point and it's a great lesson for us to learn early. Also, it's always a good lesson when you come away with a win, too."
STAT OF THE MATCH
- Tech outperformed the Blue Hose on the service line, posting a 7-1 ace advantage. It's the highest number of service aces for the Hokies since Nov. 22, 2017, when they posted eight against Virginia.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
Gametime ⏰#FuelTheFire | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/QdONtdVvGN
— Virginia Tech Volleyball (@HokiesVB) August 25, 2018
WHAT IS NEXT
- Tech will come back later today to play Charlotte in the final match of the Charlotte Invitational at 6 p.m. ET at Halton Arena.