Every Hokie will forever have a story to share about how they engaged in Virginia Tech Men's Basketball's magical run to the 2022 ACC Championship. They will always remember exactly where they were, what they ate the day of, the lucky clothes they wore to superstitiously propel the team to the podium. For Sierra Bennett and Hokies Spirit, they experienced this streak closer than anyone else, representing Virginia Tech from the baseline on the national stage.
"One day I'm going to bring my kids to Cassell and say to them, 'That banner up there? I was there for that,'" said Bennett, a senior from New Market, Maryland. "I've experienced so many exciting games, but this has got to take the top spot."
For her personally, the ACC Tournament was a culmination of her experience as a student-athlete. A four-year member of the team, Bennett is the Student Athlete-Advisory Committee representative for Hokies Spirit. She will receive a bachelor's degree in Childhood Pre-Education in the spring, but will be returning to Blacksburg in the fall to pursue a Master's of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. When reflecting on her time donning the maroon and orange, Bennett looked back on some of the women that helped make her trip to the Barclays Center possible.
"The head spirit coach when I came in was Perren Young, and she was a very big role model to me," Bennett stated. "I also looked up to Caitlin Lorch when I was a freshman; she was a senior and had great energy and was an amazing cheerleader. I admired Emily Santos, too. We were on the team together for two years and she was such a fun person to be around. We also had the same major, she completed the same Master's Program I will be in. So, I looked up to her academically."
Bennett and her teammates add a unique perspective to one of the biggest moments in Virginia Tech Athletics history. Before the 2022 ACC Tournament at the Barclays Center, she had actually cheered at two women's tournaments in 2019 and 2020, before missing out in 2021 due to COVID restrictions. The 2022 ACC Tournament presented a physical, yet exciting challenge for Hokies Spirit, as Mike Young's squad continued to excel in the tournament.
"We had to work on the fly a little bit," Bennett said. "Thankfully, with our sets and our pyramids, that stuff is kind of set. My voice was honestly gone for like days after, though. We didn't get to do and showcase as much as we do at a regular home game at Cassell, but being able to experience everything from the sidelines was amazing. I know we're all going to remember that."
The ACC Tournament format requires spirit squads to sit the entirety of the actual gameplay and only allows them to perform during timeouts. So, in effect, Bennett and her teammates had a relaxed practice schedule, allowing them to fully explore their surroundings and live out a premiere student-athlete experience.
"Because the games were so late, we had the whole day to ourselves until we had to meet the basketball team to send them out of the hotel," Bennett claimed. "So we really got to explore New York City, because a lot of us had never been before."
Virginia Tech continued to excel in the tournament, stunning Clemson on a last-second 3-pointer and then upsetting higher-seeded Notre Dame and North Carolina in confident fashion. Bennett said her teammates adopted superstitious strategies to keep the positive energy of the tournament run alive.
"We all had our little superstitious things," Bennett chuckled. "I forgot my Airpods for the first game, so when we won, I said I'll just do that everyday now. The first game I also just had a granola bar and popcorn from the vending machine – that's it. So, I had to bring the exact same snacks to each game."
When it came time for the final against Duke, Bennett could hardly bring herself to watch the closing moments of the title game.
"I find that when I look at the score, I get really stressed out. So in all four games, I didn't look at the score until the end of the game," Bennett said, without an ounce of exaggeration. "With like 30 seconds left, I noticed all of the blue in the stands were sitting down and all of the maroon were standing up. My partner Blaine [Williams] squeezed my shoulders, and I looked up at the score. We were up by eight or 10 points. Then it hit me. I think I did tear up a little bit."
As the confetti fell down on the Hokies, Bennett fully soaked up the experience. After the long bus ride back to the New River Valley, she reflected on what the entire experience meant to her and her Hokies Spirit teammates.
"I was one of the only seniors on the trip with Blaine and Riley [Wilson]," Bennett explained. "I hadn't really had a lot of time to get to know a bunch of the underclassmen before this. We all got really close in helping each other get ready every day. It ended up being really awesome."
While pursuing her master's, Bennett will continue to cheer at Virginia Tech, in the hopes of sharing another championship moment with the teammates so close to her heart.
Make A Gift
Hokie Nation can make a direct impact on female student-athletes through a gift to the Virginia Tech Women's Sports Fund. This fund recognizes the accomplishments and impact of Hokies female athletes. By supporting this fund, you are empowering future females to reap the benefits of college athletics and push past their boundaries both in sports and in life. The confidence, strength and character gained through sports are the tools that help women become strong leaders in today's world.
Writing HERstory Campaign
Coinciding with Women's History Month in March and the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Virginia Tech Athletics launched a multi-platform brand campaign celebrating the incredible achievements of its female student-athletes, both past and present, while inspiring the next generation of women who aspire to achieve their dreams through athletics. In partnership with Truist, Tech will share stories of its past and current female student-athletes over the course of the calendar year. Ranging from podcast interviews to feature stories and more, the incredible moments and achievements by women over the years in Virginia Tech Athletics will be celebrated.
