Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech volleyball team fell in five sets to North Carolina A&T Saturday afternoon, moving the Hokies to 9-3 on the season. The Aggies are now 8-4 and end the Hokie Invite with a 3-0 record.
The Hokies won the first two sets 28-26 and 25-22. Tech hit .361 in the first set with 18 kills, its best set offensively. North Carolina A&T bounced back to grab the next two sets at 25-23 and 25-20.
During the decisive fifth set, the Hokies rallied back from a 7-5 deficit to take the lead at 10-9 off an attack error by the Aggies. The two sides traded points until North Carolina A&T took the lead back at 12-11. From there, the Aggies used a 3-0 run to force set point and a kill by Naiya Sawtelle ended the match in the Aggies favor.
Leading the Hokies for the third straight match was Griere Hughes with 13 kills, as well as Angel Robinson with eight kills and a team-high .412 hitting percentage. Marisa Cerchio also posted 11 kills and a .320 hitting percentage.
Logan Mosley ended the match with 16 digs and Cierra Huntley added 12 with two aces. The Hokies totaled 14 team blocks, as Hughes had two solo blocks. Brie Postema and Mara Perry were the assist leaders with 26 and 21, respectively.
For A&T, Edie Brewer had a team-high 14 kills and a .386 hitting percentage. Fatimah Shabazz and Sawtelle were also solid for the Aggies, posting 13 kills. Libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera finished her match with 14 digs while Brewer added 27 assists.
Virginia Tech opens ACC play next, hosting Clemson next Friday at 6 p.m. Georgia Tech makes the trip to Blacksburg on Sunday for a 1 p.m. first serve.Gallery: (9-18-2021) VB: NC A&T Match