BLACKSBURG – After starting the season a perfect 3-0, Virginia Tech's volleyball team will play hosts to Campbell, Robert Morris and William & Mary at the Hokie Invitational sponsored by the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Christiansburg on Friday and Saturday at Carilion Clinic Court inside Cassell Coliseum.
Play will commence on Friday at 10 a.m. ET between Robert Morris and Campbell in a neutral-site match and will wrap up on Saturday at 4 p.m. with the Hokies taking on Robert Morris.
Tech will play its first match of the weekend against William & Mary at noon on Friday and will come back seven hours later for its tilt with Campbell, the alma mater of Tech volunteer assistant coach Kayla Schanback.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Fri. | Noon ET vs. William & Mary | Stats | Stream
Fri. | 7 p.m. ET vs. Campbell | Stats | Stream
Sat. | 4 p.m. ET vs. Robert Morris | Stats | Stream
All three of Tech's matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app. None of the neutral-site matches will be broadcasted.
The last time out, the Hokies went down to Charlotte, North Carolina and were crowned co-champions with Elon at the Charlotte Invitational, defeating USC Upstate, Presbyterian and Charlotte.
The three-match performance marked coach Jill Wilson's third tournament title since taking over in Blacksburg. She led Tech to win the Pepsi Panther Invitational and A-State Invitational in 2017.
Senior Jaila Tolbert had a strong weekend in Charlotte, earning all-tournament team honors after putting down 29 kills on a .305 hitting percentage while blocking 14 attacks.
Sophomore Kaity Smith stole the show opening weekend, earning co-MVP honors with racking up over 40 kills in three matches. Smith was an all-tournament team selection as well, hitting north of .300 and scooping up 33 digs on the weekend.
Middle blockers Marisa Cerchio and Kai Young showed out in the final match last weekend, with both setting career highs in the kills and blocks department. The pair guided Tech to owning 18 blocks, marking the most in the Jill Wilson era and just four blocks shy of the school record of 22. Cerchio leads the ACC in blocks per set with 1.73.
Promotions on Friday night for the Tech-Campbell match at 7 p.m. will be Welcome Back to School and Social Media Night, with giveaways to fans. Fans can use the hashtag #ThisIsHome to be seen on the video board. Also, students can participate in the High-5 line by checking in at the marketing table by 6:40 p.m.
FAN INFO
Promotions on Friday night for the Tech-Campbell match at 7 p.m. will be Welcome Back to School and Social Media Night, with giveaways to fans. Fans can use the hashtag #ThisIsHome to be seen on the video board. Also, students can participate in the High-5 line by checking in at the marketing table by 6:40 p.m.
Virginia Tech Athletics is implementing a clear-bag policy at all of its games this academic year. The policy will allow for a better and quicker experience at gates and is also a public safety measure that is being successfully implemented at other large venues including fellow ACC venues. For more info, click here.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WILLIAM & MARY
• The new era of William & Mary volleyball kicked off this past weekend at the Wildcat Classic, and the Tribe fell three times in their matches versus Central Arkansas, Davidson and Marist in Davidson, North Carolina.
• Head Coach Tim Doyle enters his first year in Williamsburg after a four-year stint as an assistant coach at VCU. While in Richmond, Doyle guided the Rams to owning the longest winning streak in the country last year with 27 matches on their way to an Atlantic 10 championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
• The Tribe are led by freshman Claire Farrell and sophomore Kate Dedrick, with each owning more than a 2.50 kills per set average. Setter Autumn Brenner, the school's all-time leader for career assists in the current scoring era, posted a double-double performance against Central Arkansas last weekend.
• William & Mary leads the all-time series, claiming a 13-9 advantage. The first meeting between the Hokies and Tribe took place in 1981, a 2-0 W&M win. The last contest was in 2013 and Tech won 3-1.
CAMPBELL
• Campbell is coming to the Hokie Invitational with a 1-2 record after losing its first two matches to Seattle and Portland and then following it up with a win over CSU Bakersfield in San Diego, California.
• Greg Goral is in his sixth year at the helm of the Camels and has brought them to the Big South Championship match, which hadn't happened since 1989. Goral led Campbell to a 20-win season last fall and a National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) postseason berth.
• Freshman Sarah Colla is coming off a double-double performance in the Golden State, tallying 16 kills and 12 digs in the win against CSU Bakersfield. Campbell is led by Alysha Mitchell at the net, as the sophomore owns a team-high 19 blocks through three matches, averaging 1.73 blocks per set.
• Tech has won the only meeting with the Camels, a 3-0 win in 2003.
ROBERT MORRIS
• At the Catamount Volleyball Classic, Robert Morris was defeated by Charleston Southern, Middle Tennessee and Western Carolina opening weekend in Cullohwee, North Carolina.
• Entering his ninth season in Moon Township, Dale Starr has produced 15 all-conference players during his time with the Colonials. In 2015, Starr led RMU to a Northeastern Conference title, the first in his tenure and eighth in school history.
• Setter Whitney Brown is averaging 8.3 assists per set for the Colonials, and middle blocker Emma Granger, the 2017 NEC Rookie of the Year, is off to a strong start with 22 kills and 12 blocks through three matches.
• Similar to Campbell, Tech has only faced Robert Morris once as well, owning a 1-0 advantage with a 3-0 win in 2002.
