Hokie Club
BLACKSBURG – Beginning conference play against the defending ACC champions, Virginia Tech's volleyball team fell 3-0 to No. 9 Pitt on Friday evening at Carilion Clinic Court inside Cassell Coliseum.
Tech (9-4, 0-1 ACC) was led by senior Jaila Tolbert, who was the lone Hokie to crack double-digits in the kills column, totaling 10. Pitt (13-0, 2-0 ACC) saw Nika Markovic back in action after missing three matches, finishing with a team-high 14 kills on a .440 hitting percentage.
The Hokies started the match fast, getting out to an 8-3 lead behind a couple kills from Tolbert, but the Panthers stormed back to tie it at 9-9. Pitt kept its momentum and would go on to get up 24-12, but Tech scored four in a row, however, Markovic got the final kill to win the first frame 25-16.
Once again Tech got out to an early lead, this time getting out to a 5-2 advantage after a block by Tolbert and sophomore Kai Young. Pitt would make a comeback, though, taking a 13-10 advantage to force a Tech timeout. Out of the break, the Panthers extended their lead and ended up winning 25-18 in the second set.
In the final frame, Pitt was the one to hit on all cylinders early, leading 9-4 to cause a Hokie timeout. Tech would respond with a run of its own behind back-to-back blocks, forcing a Pitt timeout at 15-11 Panthers. Markovic scored three of the next four points following the stop in action and that lead would be enough, as Pitt went on to win 25-20.
(9/21/2018) 2018 VOLLEYBALL vs. PITT
NOTES
- Tolbert concluded with 10 kills, her fourth straight match with 10 or more. The Minnesota native also had three blocks, marking her sixth contest this season of owning three or more.
- Sophomore Marisa Cerchio tallied the second-most kills on the day for Tech, racking up nine on a team-high hitting percentage of .312. Cerchio swatted an attack as well, making her have at least one block in every match this fall.
- Outside hitter Kaity Smith put down six kills with four digs, two assists and a block. The sophomore's two assists tied her season high, which she did on Aug. 25 versus Charlotte.
- Redshirt senior Rhegan Mitchell dished out 25 assists and registered five digs and two blocks. The Georgia native's two blocks marked her second consecutive match with two stops, the first time she has done that this season.
- Libero Carol Raffety collected a team-high 14 digs, one kill and an assist. The junior passed Ana Lang (1999-02) on Tech's all-time list, moving into 15th all-time for career digs with 1,088.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JILL WILSON
"I was very proud of our drive and work ethic that we had throughout the match, especially the first five points, which was a big emphasis for us this week," Tech Head Coach Jill Wilson said. "We came out every set firing away, so that was a huge step for us.
"I don't think we played as smart as we could've. That will be something that we need to address, with some of our shots.
"We are all looking forward to Sunday against Virginia. It's always a match that is so much fun, I think we'll have a huge crowd. I'm excited about the work ethic that we showed tonight and I think if we bring that and fix a few things, good things will come."
STAT OF THE MATCH
- Tech, which posted six blocks, held Pitt to its third-lowest hitting percentage of the season with a .244 clip. Coming into the match, the Panthers had the highest hitting percentage in the nation.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
Set 2 | Another kill for Cerchio!
— Virginia Tech Volleyball (@HokiesVB) September 21, 2018
The sophomore now has five kills on a .500 clip
Pitt leads 18-14 pic.twitter.com/0HLLwbAP8D
WHAT IS NEXT
- The Hokies will be back at it on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra, taking on their in-state rival Virginia (4-7, 0-1 ACC) at home. After a draw in men's soccer on Sept. 7, the Commonwealth Clash currently stands at 0.5-0.5.