Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Seeking revenge, The Virginia Tech volleyball team rolled to a 3-2 victory over the Tar Heels on Friday evening at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum
The Hokies (2-1, 1-1 ACC) earned their first ACC win of the season against North Carolina (1-1) in the second match between the two teams in two days. The Tar Heels and Tech split the series and even 1-1 this season after the Hokies victory tonight.
Graduate student Kaity Smith notched the 25th double-double of her career with 21 kills and 14 digs. Junior Talyn Jackson tallied a season-high 32 assists while freshman Brie Postema recorded her third straight game with 20 or more assists.
In the win, senior Marisa Cerchio came up with 15 kills and on the defensive end had two blocks. The Texas native Ashley Homan collected her second straight double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs.
The victory marked head coach Marci Byers's first ACC win and pushed the Hokies to a winning record in 2020.
THE GAME
The Hokies in the first took an early lead and went up 8-3. Later in the set, the Tar Heels came within one point but the Hokies would find a set ending surge and go on to win 25-18.
The second stanza was tight all the way through and was even at 25-25 late in the set. The Hokies would score two straight points including freshman Cierra Huntley who registered a kill to claim the set 27-25.
The Tar Heels came out in the third focused and went up 14-7 midway through. The Hokies attempted a late push but the Tar Heels were too much to handle as North Carolina won the stanza 25-21.
Tech jumped off hot in the fourth and went up 11-3 to set the standard in the set. North Carolina would respond with a run of their own and even took the lead at 20-19. The rest of the set was back and forth but the Tar Heels came out on top 25-22 and evened the match at 2-2.
The deciding fifth set was a sight to see as both teams were flying all over the court. The Hokies gained an advantage on back-to-back kills from Ashley Homan late in the fifth. Tech saw the finish line and claimed the set 15-10 and went on to win the match 3-2.
QUOTING VIRGINIA TECH HEAD COACH MARCI BYERS
On the Hokies resilience in the victory:
"I think we did a really good job. We had made some changes from the night before that we were trying to implement and we did that really well through the first two but you know these are the type of matches you want because they build character and confidence," Byers said. "I told the kids I was really proud of how they fought back because we had gotten down, we had gotten up and then down again but they stayed with what we were trying to do. I'm just really proud of them in general."
MATCH NOTES
- Freshman Postema collects her third straight match with 20 or more assists.
- Graduate student Smith notched her 25th double-double of her career with 21 kills and 14 digs.
- Senior Cerchio tallied a season-high 15 kills in the win along with two blocks.
- Outside hitter Homan registered her second straight double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will hit the road for the first time this season when they take on NC State on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. ET & Oct. 3 at 5 p.m. ET inside Reynolds Coliseum.
Gallery: (9-25-2020) 2020 VOLLEYBALL vs. NORTH CAROLINA MATCH 2