Hokie Club
BLACKSBURG – Double-digit kills by senior Jaila Tolbert and sophomore Kaity Smith were not enough against NC State, as the Wolfpack defeated the Virginia Tech volleyball team 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies (11-5, 2-2 ACC) saw Tolbert end up with 14 kills and Smith tallied 12, the pair's eighth match of them owning 10 or more in the same contest, while the Wolfpack (8-6, 2-2 ACC) were paced by Teni Sopitan's match-high 18 kills.
Smith and Tolbert posted a kill apiece to tie it up at 14-14 before sophomores Ester Talamazzi and Marisa Cerchio each got one of their own, forcing an NC State timeout at 18-16. The Pack came back and tied it at 20-all but the Hokies scored five of the next six points to win it, 25-21.
Jumping out to a 15-10 lead heading into the media timeout in the second set, Tech would squander its advantage at 22-21, taking a timeout. Out of the break, the Hokies would cut into the deficit and tie it up at 24-all, but NC State scored the next two points on two Soptian kills to claim it, 26-24.
Talamazzi collected two service aces to make cut the Wolfpack's lead to 8-7, but NC State went on a 7-4 run to hold a four-point advantage going into the media timeout, 15-11, in the third frame. Tech would trim it to two at 15-13 following a combination block by Cerchio and Talamazzi, but the Pack would go on another run and win 25-19.
The fourth stanza saw 11 ties in a tightly-contested battle, with no team gaining a bigger lead than three points until NC State went up 17-14. The Hokies clawed back and tied it up at 21-21, but the Pack would score four of the next six points to get the victory, 25-23.
(9/30/2018) 2018 VOLLEYBALL vs. NC STATE
NOTES
- Smith had a near double-double, recording 12 kills, eight digs, one block and an ace. The sophomore has had 10 or more kills in five of her last six matches.
- Tolbert had a team-high 14 kills, tying her third-most of the fall, on a team-best hitting percentage of .344. The Minnesota native also stuffed two attacks and has had at least one block in her last five matches, dating back to Sept. 16.
- Redshirt senior Rhegan Mitchell dished out 30 assists for the second straight match, while freshman Talyn Jackson came in for the first time since Sept. 8 and distributed eight assists.
- Talamazzi finished with five kills, three aces and 14 digs. The 14 digs marked her second-most of the season and her eighth match with 10 or more.
- Libero Carol Raffety posted a team-high 20 digs to move to No. 13 all-time for career digs in program history, passing Melissa Markowski (2002-05). The 20 digs were her fourth time this year of hitting that mark or more.
- Fellow defensive specialist Kylie Thomas scooped up seven digs, her most since Sept. 16 versus UTSA, and were her third-most this year.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JILL WILSON
On coming out firing in the first set and then cooling off in the remaining sets:
"NC State hit some really nice shots and I was disappointed in our resiliency," Tech Head Coach Jill Wilson said. "We didn't bounce back after it hit some good shots very well. I was just a little disappointed with our body language in response to plays."
On Talyn Jackson coming in off the bench and how the setters performed:
"Rhegan [Mitchell] didn't have her best day today, which very rarely happens, but I thought Talyn [Jackson] did a great job of coming in and doing a nice job," Wilson said. "The relationship that they have is really cool. They support each other in every single practice and have each other's back, which is awesome."
On what will be the team's focus in practice heading into next weekend's matches:
"Definitely discipline," Wilson said. "We lost our defensive discipline quite a bit. Again, after they had some really nice swings, we bailed a little bit on our system that we've worked really hard at. We will make sure that we get that back this week."
WHAT IS NEXT
- The Hokies will hit the road for the first time in conference play as they head south to Georgia Tech (11-6, 0-4 ACC) on Friday and Clemson (9-8, 0-4 ACC) on Sunday. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.