Hokie Club
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Beginning ACC play on Friday night in enemy territory, the Virginia Tech volleyball team fell to in-state rival Virginia 3-1 at Memorial Gymnasium.
The victory gives the Cavaliers (9-6, 1-1 ACC) a 1.5-0 advantage in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529, following their win in women's soccer last night. Virginia529 is the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. To learn more about Virginia529 and the competition, visit www.thecommonwealthclash.com.
The Hokies (7-7, 0-1) were paced by right-side hitter Marisa Cerchio (15 kills) and middle blocker Anabel Zier (nine kills, two blocks), while setter Talyn Jackson (42 assists, 14 digs) tallied her eighth double-double of the season.
THE MATCH
Knotted at 11-11 after a kill by outside hitter Kaity Smith, Tech got hot and scored five of the next six points to take a four-point lead at 16-12. But the Cavaliers fought back and eventually tied it up at 17-all and would go on to edge Tech 28-26.
The second set was another competitive frame, with 12 ties and eight lead changes taking place. No team gained a larger lead than three, as the two clubs stayed close all the way up to 19-17 UVA before Tech went on a run behind three consecutive kills by Cerchio to lead Tech to a 25-23 win.
The third stanza was all Wahoos, as they jumped out to a 9-4 lead. However outside hitter Ester Talamazzi put down back-to-back kills, cutting into the deficit, but it would not be enough with UVA running away with it, 25-13.
Following another kill by Talamazzi to give the Hokies a three-point lead at 9-6, Virginia caught fire and scored nine of the next 13 points to take a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout. Tech would cut it to one at 19-18, but another run by the Cavaliers would do it, winning 25-20.
QUOTING FRESHMAN ANABEL ZIER
On playing in her first Virginia-Virginia Tech matchup:
"It was really cool just because I'm from Blacksburg," Zier said. "So Virginia Tech and UVA is always a big rivalry. UVA is always a huge game, so it was fun being in that atmosphere."
On how she felt like she played tonight hitting over .400:
"I think I played pretty well and went up by staying aggressive," Zier said. "I tried not to shy away because they had a big block, so I tried to stay aggressive and hit my shots. I tried not to get down if a point goes bad, but just stay up and help my teammates."
On what the team can take away from tonight:
"We're definitely still working," Zier said. "One thing is starting off strong, which I think we did well. So, we had a strong fight in the beginning but it didn't turn out how we wanted in the end. We're still working on fighting the whole match and staying aggressive."
NOTES
- Zier has now hit over .300 eight times and .400 twice, marking her first .400-match since Sept. 6 against Elon. Her .471 clip was a career high and the second highest by a Hokie this fall (minimum 12 attacks).
- Jackson's been steady since taking over the setter position this season, following her having just one double-double last year, with accomplishing the feat in eight of her last nine matches. Her 14 digs tonight tied her career high, which she set last weekend in Blacksburg versus Arkansas State.
- Cerchio tied her career high of 15 kills, racking up 15 twice this season (VCU, Sept. 10). The Ohio native has now had 10 matches this fall of double-digit kills.
- Smith got back to her ways, cracking the 10-kill plateau for just the second time this season (15 vs. VCU on Sept. 10). In her career, she has had 42 double-digit kill outings.
- Defensive specialist Kylie Thomas, who was coming off a career-high 15 digs versus Arkansas State in her latest match, followed it up with her second-most digs of the season with 13.
UP NEXT
Tech will continue its road trip by heading to Pittsburgh and taking on No. 4 Pitt (12-1, 1-0) Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on ACC Network. It marks the first time the Hokies will be linear in the Jill Wilson era.Gallery: (9/27/2019) 2019 VOLLEYBALL AT VIRGINIA