Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – In the Commonwealth Clash, the Virginia Tech volleyball team took down in-state rival Virginia 3-1 on Friday evening inside Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies (3-1, 2-1 ACC) earned their second ACC win of the season and garnered their third victory on the year. Virginia (1-2, 1-1) dropped their first ACC contest of the season in the first of two matches in this season's Clash.
Senior Marisa Cerchio earned her career-high in kills with 17 on the night while graduate student Kaity Smith collected 15 kills and eight digs in the win. The two setters Talyn Jackson and Brie Postema combined for 48 total assists in the match.
Coming into tonight, The Hokies and Cavaliers were tied at 37-37 in the overall series. With the win tonight Tech now has a edge in the series between the two leading 38-37. Despite the win, Virginia still leads in the overall Commonwealth Clash this year with a score of 1.75 -.75 between all collegiate sports. The Hokies earned .5 points tonight.
This victory marks head coach Marci Byers's first win over in-state rival Virginia.
QUOTING VIRGINIA TECH HEAD COACH MARCI BYERS
On the Hokies win over rival Virginia:
"It was obviously great to get this dub and get on the floor again," Byers said. "We haven't played in a couple weeks and it looked like that on the floor for the first three sets I thought. I felt like we didn't get into a groove until set number four but it was nice to finally get into that groove then. Anytime you can beat the Wahoos it's a good thing because I'm well aware of that so I was glad they were able to pull this out tonight."
THE GAME
The Cavaliers jumped off to a hot start and took a commanding 13-8 lead in the first. The Hokies then mounted a comeback and took their first lead at 17-16. Tech scored the last three points to win the set 27-25.
The second stanza mirrored the first as the Cavaliers took an early lead followed by a Hokies comeback. The two squads went back and forth all set and found themselves even at 24-24. The Wahoos controlled the end of the set and went on to claim the stanza 31-29.
The third set was a barn burner throughout as both teams traded leads. The Cavaliers took a late lead at 20-18 but the Hokies would storm back to claim the set. Back-to-back kills from graduate student Ashley Homan propelled Tech to 25-23 win.
The Hokies inched closer to victory over their rival when they found themselves leading 18-14 in a potentially decisive fourth set. Tech found key points and came up clutch late as they took the set 26-24 and won the match 3-1.
MATCH NOTES
- Senior Cerchio registered her career-high in kills with 17 on the night.
- Graduate student Smith recorded her third straight match with double-digit kills.
- Junior Talyn Jackson collected her second straight match with 30 or more assists
- Libero Logan Mosley tallied her third consecutive match with double-digit digs.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will face off against the Cavaliers for the second straight match on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum with coverage available through the ACC Network.
Gallery: (10-16-2020) 2020 VOLLEYBALL vs. VIRGINIA