CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In a back-and-forth affair that had 37 ties and 20 lead changes, the Virginia Tech volleyball team fell 3-2 to Virginia on Friday night at Memorial Gym in a Commonwealth Clash matchup.
Three Hokies (14-13, 5-10 ACC) tallied double-digit kills while setter Rhegan Mitchell dished out a season-high 53 assists. Sarah Billiard paced the Cavaliers (8-17, 4-11 ACC), racking up a team-high 15 kills and eight blocks.
The Tech-UVA volleyball game was presented by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. The score for the "Commonwealth Clash" is now 3-2 in favor of Virginia Tech. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at www.thecommonwealthclash.com.
With 11 ties and six lead changes coming in the first set, the match began knotted at 7-7 and would go on to its final tie at 19-all, following a kill by outside hitter Kaity Smith. The very next play, middle blocker Marisa Cerchio and right-side hitter Jaila Tolbert teamed up for a combination block, spurring Tech to score seven of the next 11 points to win it, 25-22.
Jumping out to an 8-5 lead in the second frame, Tech saw the Cavaliers go on a 9-1 run to take a 14-9 advantage. The Hokies would trim the deficit to three, 17-14, after a kill by outside hitter Ester Talamazzi, but UVA wouldn't let it get any closer by finishing on an 8-2 run to claim it, 25-16.
Knotted at 9-all to begin the third stanza, UVA scored three in a row but Tech answered to make it 15-15. The two sides would seesaw all the way up to 21-21 until the Hokies put on a block party, blocking three Cavalier attacks, including the final point when Tolbert and middle blocker Kai Young teamed up for the block assist to win it, 25-23.
Trailing 8-5, Smith put down two kills to lead Tech on a 6-1 run, giving the Hokies an 11-9 advantage. The two-point lead would slip away, but Tech rallied back and tied it 19-all after an ace by libero Carol Raffety. Talamazzi would get two more kills but it would not be enough as the Cavs won 25-23.
Talamazzi got it going in the fifth set, posting three kills before the switch of benches at the 8-5 mark in Tech's favor. However, UVA battled back and tied it at 9-all. Points would go back and forth, including Tech trailing at match points, 14-13, but Cerchio got a kill to tie it up once again. But the Cavaliers got the final two points to claim it, 16-14.
NOTES
- Tolbert continues her tear as of late, putting down 16 kills on her way to her seventh consecutive match of double-digit kills. During that stretch, the senior is averaging 3.79 kills per set. Tolbert also tied her season high in blocks, stopping six Cavalier attacks.
- Smith finished with a team-high 17 kills and nine digs, just barely missing the double-double. The 17 kills tied her second most of the season, which she has done four times this fall.
- Talamazzi accomplished her sixth double-double of the season, owning 11 kills and 10 digs. The Italy native had seven double-doubles last year, now sitting with 13 in her career.
- Mitchell registered 50-plus assists for the first time this season and first since Oct. 22, 2017, versus Duke. In her career, the redshirt senior has had nine matches of 50 or more assists.
- Freshman Tessa Wyner tied her career-high three kills, which she set on Oct. 7 against Clemson.
- With the loss, the Hokies' six-match winning streak against the Cavaliers came to a close, dating back to Nov. 28, 2015. Tech still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 37-35.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JILL WILSON
On the tightly-contested match:
"I thought UVA played really hard and had one of its best matches this year," Tech coach Jill Wilson said. "I was very disappointed with our consistency with our game plan. When you're playing against someone that is playing that well and we don't have some of the discipline throughout the whole match, the ball is going to find you."
On different players of the team shining:
"I thought everybody played really hard at times," Wilson said. "But I just think we have to get to the point where we're disciplined through the really long rallies. Try not to overdue stuff with everybody trusting each other to do their job."
On the added rest with no match on Sunday and what's on deck heading into next weekend:
"It will be nice with us having our off weekend coming at a good time before a long road trip to Boston College and Syracuse," Wilson said. "We'll get back to work on Monday with giving them the weekend off to rest a little bit. Then we'll get back to work on our discipline."
WHAT IS NEXT
- The Hokies will head back to Blacksburg playing in only one match on the weekend, marking their first time doing so this fall. Up next will be a Northeast road swing to Boston College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET and to Syracuse on Sunday at 1 p.m., wrapping up their final away matches of the regular season.
