Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – In its second match of the day at the Hokie Invitational sponsored by the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Christiansburg, Virginia Tech's volleyball team turned together its second straight sweep by defeating Campbell 3-0 on Friday night at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
A balanced attack led the Hokies (5-0) to their second win on Friday, coming back a few hours later against the Camels (2-3) to earn their fourth sweep of the season. Five Hokies had five or more kills on the evening.
The first set saw a back-and-forth affair with nine tries in the frame alone, with Tech not breaking away until after the 14-14 mark. The Hokies went on an 11-4 run after the last tie behind two kills each from sophomores Marisa Cerchio and Kaity Smith to win it, 25-18.
Similar to the first stanza, no team could pull away until after double digits. Smith and senior Jaila Tolbert combined for four kills after the media timeout to lead Tech to a six-point win, 25-19.
The third set was all Tech, with it hitting a .455 clip and holding the Camels to a -.048 mark. The Hokies got out to a big lead, going up 9-4 to force a Campbell timeout. Out of the break, Tech rattled off 14 points and only allowed four to make it 23-8 before another Camel timeout. Talamazzi would get the final point on a kill to help Tech win 25-12.
Campbell was paced by Sarah Colla, who posted a team-high six kills and two digs.
(8/31/2018) 2018 VOLLEYBALL vs. CAMPBELL
NOTES
- Tolbert hit north of .500 for the second time this season, tallying a mark of .562. The Minnesota native finished with a team-high nine kills on 16 errorless swings, three digs and two blocks.
- Cerchio (seven kills, three blocks) and sophomore Kai Young (five kills, two blocks) combined for 12 kills and five blocks at the middle blocker position. Each hit over .300, too, with Cerchio posting a .400 clip and Young a .308 mark.
- Libero Carol Raffety scooped up a match-high 13 digs, marking the second most for her this season. She is now up to 970 career digs, making her 30 away from cracking the prestigious 1,000 mark.
- Smith filled up the stat sheet, finishing with eight kills, seven digs, two aces and blocks and an assist.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JILL WILSON
"Campbell is really gritty and fights hard and I was really excited on how our team responded to that, fighting through some really long rallies and winning a lot of them," Head Coach Jill Wilson said. "I think it was a really good match for our team to take that next step.
"We definitely have some priorities with our offense and our two setters are doing a really good job of balancing that and being very aggressive with their choices. I thought they did a good job tonight.
"I think the biggest thing when you have your third match of the weekend is to make sure you keep your passion and energy up, because it was a long day today. And just making sure that we come out on fire and be loud and aggressive. So, that will be a lot of things we'll talk about."
STAT OF THE MATCH
- After racking up 13 aces during its first match today against William & Mary, Tech responded with 11 more against the Camels, marking the first time in the Jill Wilson era of having back-to-back matches with 10-plus aces at the service line.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
Play of the Match 💪
— Virginia Tech Volleyball (@HokiesVB) September 1, 2018
Cerchio with one of her seven kills on the night against Campbell! pic.twitter.com/2x2VjnIWzV
WHAT IS NEXT
- The Hokies will come back to Cassell Coliseum on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET to take on Robert Morris and wrap up the Hokie Invitational. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app.