WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Virginia Tech volleyball team opened the season with a win on Friday night, defeating UNC Wilmington 3-1. Senior Cera Powell set a new career-high with 20 kills in the victory.
Powell paced the Hokies offensively with 20.5 points, adding a block assist to her point tally. Mekenzi Heckmann also had a good night offensively, recording 16 kills, which is also a Virginia Tech career-high.
At the net, the Hokies added 10 blocks, with Anabel Zier and Sydney Petersen leading the way. Zier accounted for eight total, while Petersen added five. Hanna Borer and Jenna Appel each saw time as the setter, with Borer recording 19 assists and Appel adding 15. Maddie Slagle had a good game defensively, scooping up a team-high 19 digs.
Virginia Tech took the first set 25-23, coming back from a 7-3 deficit to eventually take the first set advantage. Powell jumped out early, recording eight of her kills in the opening set. Heckmann also added four kills, while Slagle recorded seven digs.
The second set was also a tight battle with the Hokies coming out on top 25-22. Tech recorded an attack percentage of .225 compared to only a .122 from the Seahawks. The Hokies also had two blocks, with block assists coming from Cara Lewis, Amaya Roberson and Heckmann.
The Seahawks battled back to take the third set 25-22 to force a fourth. UNCW's attack was spread across six different players, with Hannah Forbes leading the way with three kills. The Seahawks also recorded three aces in the third and two blocks.
The Hokies came out victorious in a back-and-forth final set, winning the match with a score of 31-29. The Seahawks and Hokies traded final points as UNCW came back to tie the set up at 23-23. From there, the team's went back-and-forth on set points until an attack error from UNCW's Kirsten Badowski sealed the win for Virginia Tech.
Tech is now 8-0 in season openers over the last eight seasons, with its last season-opening loss coming in 2014. The Hokies close out the Seahawk Classic tomorrow, taking on Coastal Carolina (1-0) at Noon and Davidson (0-1) at 3 p.m.
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