Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Looking to sweep the Commonwealth Clash, the Virginia Tech volleyball team defeated Virginia 3-1 for the second straight match on Sunday night inside Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies (4-1, 3-1 ACC) earn their third ACC win on the season and complete the sweep over in-state rival Virginia. The Cavaliers (1-3, 0-3) drop their third ACC contest this season with two losses being against Tech on the road.
Graduate-student Kaity Smith had a game-high 17 kills and notched the 1000th kill of her career. Smith also notched the 26th double-double of her career as she added 14 digs as well.
Cerchio had yet another strong performance as she racked up 13 kills. On the defensive end, Logan Mosley earned her season-high in digs with 21 in the victory.
Coming into this weekend's two-game slate, the Hokies were tied with the Cavaliers at 37-37 in the overall series. Back-to-back wins from Tech gives them the advantage at 39-37 in the two programs' long history. Virginia still leads in the overall Commonwealth Clash this year with a score of 1.75 - 1.25 across all collegiate sports. The Hokies earned another .5 points tonight.
QUOTING VIRGINIA TECH OUTSIDE HITTER KAITY SMITH
On her 1000th kill milestone:
"It feels really great," Smith said. "I really could not have done it without my teammates and the setters but overall it's a really great feeling plus it puts a lot of confidence in me."
THE GAME
The Hokies and Cavaliers traded points early on in the match but the Hokies would go on a 7-2 run sparked by a kill from middle blocker Angel Robinson to give Tech a 14-9 advantage. It was all Hokies from that point on as they would go on to win the set 25-21 with ease.
The second stanza was another tight contest early on but the Hokies would catch fire yet again and go on an 8-1 run in the middle of the set to take an 18-10 lead. This advantage would prove to be too much for the Cavaliers as the Hokies went on to claim the second 25-15.
The Cavaliers jumped off to a hot start in the third and went up 7-2. Tech attempted to mount a comeback but was halted by a 3-0 run from the Wahoos late in the third putting them up 23-15. Virginia took their first set 25-18.
The fourth stanza was back and forth action throughout. Sitting even at 20-20, Cerchio recorded a key kill which gave the Hokies the lead. Tech saw the finish line and finished the set 25-22 and won the match 3-1.
MATCH NOTES
- Graduate student Smith gained the 26th double-double of her career with 17 kills and 14 digs.
- Junior Talyn Jackson notched her season-high in digs with 11 and registered her third straight match with 20 or more assists.
- Senior Cerchio recorded her fourth straight match with double-digit kills.
- Freshman Brie Postema registered her fifth straight match with double-digit assists.
- Libero Logan Mosley earned her season-high in digs with 21.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will travel to Durham, North Carolina to face off against Duke twice on Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. ET and on Oct. 25 at 5:30 p.m. ET inside Cameron Indoor.
Gallery: (10-18-2020) 2020 VOLLEYBALL vs. VIRGINIA 2