CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Virginia Tech volleyball team lost to the DePaul Blue Demons in four sets (13-25, 21-25, 25-15, 20-25) Friday on the road at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
The non-conference loss moved Virginia Tech to 5-3 on the season.
The Hokies offense was paced by Cera Powell, who finished with 11 kills on the day. Ava Francis had a solid match offensively, adding 10 kills while hitting .474. Defensively, Tech had two players reach double figures in digs as Hanna Borer had 18 and Maddie Slagle had 15.
Game Notes
» Cera Powell had a team-high 11 kills for Virginia Tech.
» Virginia Tech got a team-high 18 digs from Hanna Borer.
» Virginia Tech attackers were helped by a team-high 21 assists from Hanna Borer.
How It Happened
The Hokies fell behind early, dropping a tough first set 25-13. Virginia Tech trailed by as many as 12 points as DePaul grabbed the advantage for good at 5-4 in a set that was tied up three times before the Blue Demons took control.
The second set was a tighter battle but the Hokies ultimately fell 25-21. DePaul grabbed the lead late in a set that was tied up 10 times before the Blue Demons took over in the second half of the stanza.
Virginia Tech rallied back to pull within two sets to one, winning their first set of the match in the third. The Hokies took control of the set early when the score was 3-2 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 25-15. The Hokie block got going, blocking six DePaul attacks in the set and capitalizing on 12 DePaul attacking errors on the way to victory.
The Hokies couldn't keep the rally going and fell short in set four 25-20 to drop the match. Powell hit .333 in the fourth set with four kills.
Tech wraps up the DePaul Invitational tomorrow, taking on Saint Louis at 3 p.m.