Tech volleyball season recapTech volleyball season recap
Volleyball

Tech volleyball season recap

Opens in a new window Updated Record Book


BLACKSBURG – Improvement was made in Year 2 of the Jill Wilson era, from on the court with the most wins since 2015 to the classroom where the team boasted over a 3.5 GPA this fall.

The Virginia Tech volleyball team (14-16, 5-13 ACC) made great strides in 2018 and you can read all that it entailed below.

THE START
After two weekends of play in nonconference action, the Hokies found themselves with a perfect 6-0 record and two tournament titles to their name – Charlotte and Hokie Invitationals.

Following two wins on Friday, Sept. 7, Tech's record was 8-0, marking the best start since 2009. The Hokies would go on and win the Bobcat Invitational, their third noncon tourney title of the season, bringing the total to five since Wilson has taken over.

ACC PLAY
Tech got its first win of league play against in-state rival Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 inside Cassell Coliseum, sweeping the Cavaliers for the first time in two years.

The next match would be a historic one, as the Hokies swept North Carolina on Sept. 28 at home, marking the first time since 2006 it won 3-0 over the Tar Heels.

Hitting the road for the first time in conference play, Tech earned another sweep, this time versus Georgia Tech in Atlanta. It was Wilson's first sweep over an ACC team on the road.

MILESTONES
Tech played William & Mary Aug. 31 on Carilion Clinic Court and saw two players notch their names in the record books. 

Outside hitter Ester Talamazzi racked up eight service aces, which was the most-ever inside Cassell Coliseum and was tied for the second-most in school history with Annie Spicer's eight against ULM on Sept. 10, 2004.

Middle blocker Marisa Cerchio had a game of her own, hitting .812 with 13 kills on 16 errorless swings versus the Tribe. The .812 clip was the third-best in school history.

Libero Carol Raffety joined the famous 1,000 digs club on Sept. 7 versus IUPUI. The junior ended with 421 digs on the year, marking her third straight season of 400-plus, and passed 12 players on the all-time career digs list with now being No. 6 with 1,342 career digs.

Right-side hitter Jaila Tolbert became the 16thHokie to turn in 1,000 kills in a career, accomplishing the feat on Nov. 16 against Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Setter Rhegan Mitchell wrapped up her storied career with 3,548 assists, passing Jordan Fish to become No. 5 on the all-time career lists.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Hokies went 8-5 at home inside Cassell Coliseum, marking a five-win improvement from 2017. A big reason why was due to an increased student section, which you can learn more on below by clicking the video.


ACC RANKS
Tech as a team finished ranked No. 5 in the ACC for service aces, tallying 141 to average 1.31 aces per set.

Individually, outside hitter Kaity Smith owned the No. 8 kills per set mark (3.51) and the No. 8 points per set average (3.88) in the league. Talamazzi finished No. 5 in aces per set (0.32) and Raffety owned the sixth-best digs per set mark (3.93). Cerchio was No. 10 for blocks per set (1.08) and Mitchell was No. 8 for assists per set (9.13).

AWARDS
Tolbert made second-team All-ACC for the second consecutive year, as well as being named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) University all-state first team.

The Minnesota native also became the first Tech volleyball player to be a Senior CLASS Award candidate and the second to play on the U.S. Collegiate National Team – Detroit.

THE FUTURE
Tech boasted six freshmen on the roster this fall and saw five show flashes of their potential.

Setter Talyn Jackson filled in for Mitchell against Robert Morris and posted a double-double, collecting 45 assists, 13 digs, four kills and two blocks. Fellow setter Sarah Jane Lynch came off the bench versus Georgia Tech and registered two service aces and two digs.

In the last match of the year against Clemson, middle blocker Angel Robinson found her groove and recorded a career-high 11 kills and one block. During the match before Clemson, Robinson owned eight kills and two blocks while fellow middle blocker Peyton Yelich had a career-best four kills and two blocks at Syracuse.

Outside hitter Tessa Wyner put together three kills and three digs, both career highs, at Clemson.

Expect the underclassmen to take on larger roles with the graduation of seniors Mitchell and Tolbert come 2019. The squad will begin their boot camp once they arrive back to Tech when spring semester begins in January.