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Volleyball

Hokies down Cavaliers 3-0, earn first ACC win

Box Score (PDF)


BLACKSBURG – Picking up its first ACC win of the season, the Virginia Tech volleyball team defeated in-state rival Virginia 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum to earn half a point in the Commonwealth Clash.

The Hokies (10-4, 1-1 ACC) were led by redshirt senior Rhegan Mitchell dishing out 42 assists and sophomore Kaity Smith tallying her fifth double-double of the season. The Cavaliers (4-8 (0-2 ACC) saw Jelena Novakovic record a team-high nine kills and two blocks.

The Tech-UVA volleyball game is 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 at 1-0.5 in favor of Virginia Tech. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at www.thecommonwealthclash.com.

Starting the match up 9-7 after a kill by sophomore Ester Talamazzi, Tech forced a Virginia timeout. Out of the break, the Cavaliers would cut it to a one-point deficit at 16-15, but the Hokies scored five of the next eight points to cause another UVA timeout. Tech kept it rolling after the pause in action to win the first set 25-20.

Knotted at 9-9 following a kill from Smith, the Hokies would gain a two-point advantage heading into the media timeout at 15-13. The two-point lead would grow to as many as eight after Tech went on a 7-1 run behind two kills apiece from sophomore Marisa Cerchio and Smith, forcing a Cavalier timeout at 22-14. UVA would trim at the deficit, but Tech went on to win 25-21.

The third set saw 10 ties all the way up until it was 17-all and freshman Sarah Jane Lynch turned in a pancake, the first dig of her career, and Mitchell distributed the ball to Smith for a kill, giving the Hokies a lead they would not relinquish to win 25-20.
 

(9/23/2018) 2018 VOLLEYBALL vs. VIRGINIA

NOTES

- Mitchell registered her fourth match of the year with 40-plus assists, while scooping up seven digs, her third most of the season.

- Smith collected 11 kills and digs with a block, marking the 10th double-double of her young career.

- Senior Jaila Tolbert posted a team-high 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage while having four blocks. The four blocks was her sixth time this year of owning four or more and the 13 kills marked her fifth match of leading Tech in kills.

- Talamazzi finished with nine kills, her third most of the season, five digs, one block and an ace.

- Middle blockers Cerchio (nine kills, five blocks) and Kai Young (four, four) combined for 13 kills and nine blocks. Cerchio hit north of .500 for the second time this year with a .529 clip.

QUOTING HEAD COACH JILL WILSON

On sweeping in-state rival Virginia:
"I'm very proud of our team," Tech Head Coach Jill Wilson said. "This is obviously a big match every year for the Virginia Tech family. I was proud that our team could give them a victory today."

On the team firing on all cylinders with a balanced attack:
"It was a balanced attack," Wilson said. "We had more kills in some different areas than we've had in the past, and I'm proud of that. Hopefully, we can keep developing a balanced offense and not have to rely on one or two people."

On already reaching last year's win total of 10 wins:
"It's great," Wilson said. "It's attributed to their hard work in the offseason, specifically with our strength coach [Allison Randall]. But I think we have a whole lot of goals ahead of us. That wasn't our goal to reach 10, we have much bigger goals and a lot of them are work-ethic things and passion based to build this program in the right way."

STAT OF THE MATCH

- Tech outblocked Virginia 8-7, marking its 10th match of the season earning more blocks than its opponent. In those 10 matches, the Hokies are a perfect 10-0. Speaking of perfect, Wilson improves to 3-0 against UVA as Tech won its six straight match against the Cavaliers, dating all the way back to Nov. 28, 2015.

TWEET OF THE MATCH



HONORING ASHLYN POOLE

- Ashlyn Poole, a former Christiansburg High School volleyball player who passed away this summer in a tragic car accident, was honored before the match. Tech's coaching staff wore customized T-shirts and wristbands in her honor. The Poole family also came to court before the match and were presented with a match ball.



WHAT IS NEXT

- Tech will play as hosts in consecutive ACC weekends, taking on North Carolina (4-7, 0-2 ACC) at 6 p.m. ET on Friday and NC State (7-5, 1-1 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Blacksburg. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.