VOLLEYBALL SPLITS WEEKEND GAMES
The Tech volleyball team rebounded after two embarrassing losses on the road last weekend, defeating North Carolina State in straight sets on Friday. However, that feeling was reversed when North Carolina swept the Hokies on Saturday evening.
In its match against the Wolfpack, Tech (18-8, 9-6 ACC) came out with a purpose early, taking an 8-2 lead.
NC State rallied late to force a tie at 22, but the Hokies held on, winning 25-23 behind a Kirsty-Blue kill.
In the second set, the Hokies again played well early, developing a solid lead midway through the set, 18-11. NC State again rallied late, pushing the set to 23-22 before eventually losing, 25-22.
Defense was key for the Hokies, holding NC State to just a .200 hitting percentage.
It was more of the same in the early portion of the third set, as the Hokies jumped on the Wolfpack, taking a 10-4 lead and never relinquishing it.
NC State players simply could not score against the Tech defense, finishing the set with a .118 hitting percentage and 11 attack errors.
One night later, Tech fell behind early in its match up with the Tar Heels, who are fourth place in the ACC.
Felicia Willoughby, who killed five of seven attempts in the first set, kept the Hokies alive.
With strong kills by Willoughby and outside hitter Amy Wengrenovich, the Hokies got as close as they would get at the end of the set, bringing the score to 19-21, before losing the next four points to the Tar Heels.
Tech looked strong in the second set. But the Hokies surrendered a lead later in the set and could not catch up.
After the break, North Carolina built a 6-3 lead. Tech kept the score close and took the lead 14-11 after five straight points, but the Heels took control of the set after a few of their own runs.
Tar Heel Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland's kill sealed the deal. Despite Tech's strong play in the middle of each set, it failed to score the last few points necessary for the win.
Tech committed 24 errors, many of which came late in the match.
The Hokies will be in action Friday as they host the last place Boston College Eagles at 3 p.m.
-- by Joe Crandley
WITT, TRAPENI WIN HOKIE OPEN RACES
In the final preparation before the championship season, Tech hosted the Hokie Open this Saturday, solidifying the final spots and rounding out the team for the NCAA Southeast Regionals this upcoming weekend.
Ryan Witt and Jessica Trapeni won their respective races at Tech Cross Country Course.
Witt crossed the finish line first with a time of 19:42 in the 6,100-meter race. Sophomore Matt Saunders followed 13 seconds later to finish third, with sophomore Eddie Judge and freshman Logan Collins coming in fourth and fifth place.
Witt's time was particularly impressive -- one of the best ever on the men's 6k course at Tech.
On the women's side, Trapeni finished the women's 3,920-meter race with a time of 17:42. She ended 11 seconds ahead of teammate and fellow sophomore Lindsey King. Freshman Chrissy Sane also finished in the top five, taking fourth with a time of 19:01.
Trapeni's victory over the weekend was rewarded on Monday, as she was named the ACC Performer of the Week. She follows fellow team member Tasmin Fanning as the second Hokie female to garner this distinction so far this season.
As a team, the Hokie Open consisted of mainly Tech students, with Hokies cross country team, the Triathlon Club and other unaffiliated students running in the race. Three runners also came from Radford to compete. In all, 26 men and 10 women ran on the cold Saturday morning. Tech now has nothing standing in its way before the zenith of its fall season: the NCAA Southeast Regionals, which take place on Saturday in Winston Salem, N.C.
The Hokie men will try to build on their third place finish at the ACC Championships and secure a birth to their first NCAA Championship since 1987.
-- by Matt Collette
MEN'S SOCCER ENDS REGULAR SEASON WINLESS IN ACC
The Virginia Tech men's soccer team lost to the Boston College Eagles, 2-1, on Senior Night at Sandra D. Thompson Field in the Hokies' regular season finale. The loss on Friday gives the Hokies a 5-12-1 overall record and a 0-8-0 in-conference record for the 2008 season.
After the Hokies initially gained the lead, Boston College forward Alejandro Bedoya scored two consecutive goals in the second half to push the Eagles to victory.
More than 1,000 spectators were on hand to honor the team's seniors -- defender Taylor Walsh and midfielders Scott Dillie and Demanya Dogbey -- before the match. As for the game action, the Eagles out shot the Hokies 19-4 with Tech freshman goalkeeper Thomas St. Germain recording seven saves in the first 45 minutes of play, and nine total.
The teams remained scoreless until the 62nd minute when Dillie headed a ball off a cross from sophomore midfielder Clarke Bentley.
The Eagles recovered though, with Bedoya scoring off a free kick on the right side of the pitch in the 75th minute.
Almost 10 minutes later, Bedoya struck again to win the game for Boston College when he netted a ball that was received off a long pass from the midfield.
Bedoya finished the game with 11 shots, eight of which were on goal.
With the end of the regular season, Weiss and the Hokies turn their focus to the ACC Championship which begins Tuesday in Cary, N.C. against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
-- by Ed Lupien
RECORDS APLENTY FOR SWIMMING AND DIVING
Three Hokies' records went down this weekend, as Tech swimming and diving swept its meet against Clemson at War Memorial Pool on Saturday. Both the men's and women's squads captured their second victories on the young season -- combining to win 21 events. Seniors Jordan McHorney, Megan Newell and Sara Smith along with junior Jessica Earl were victorious in the 200-meter medley relay with a time of 1:41.54. That broke the previous school record, set in the season's first meet.
Newell also won the 100- and 200-meter butterfly events. In the 100-meter fly, she managed to set a War Memorial Pool record with a time of 54.66. Newell clocked in with a mark of 2:02.88 in the 200-meter fly.
Smith, a senior, broke the pool record in the 200-meter individual medley, touching the wall in 2:03.45. To go along with a first-place effort in the 100-meter freestyle (50.36), Smith was runner-up in the 50-meter version of the same stroke (23.00).
Other winners on the women's swimming team included junior Sara Shapiro, who was crowned the 100-meter backstroke victor, as well as Kelly deMarrais, who was first to the wall in the 200-meter backstroke.
The men's swimming team also had its share of first-place finishers.
The 200-meter medley relay event was won by the quartet of senior Ian deToll, junior Jonathan Huss, sophomore Richard Ulatowski and freshman Charlie Higgins.
Individually, Higgins was first in the 100-meter back, while Huss registered a win in the 100-meter breaststroke.
In 20.68, Ulatowski claimed the top spot in the 50-meter freestyle. Junior Chip Hughes won the 200-meter freestyle event in 1:42.06.
Tech men swept the top three spots in three other events as well.
Sophomore Trey Stewart and freshmen Matt Baumler and Blake Trabuchi-Downey completed the top three in 200-meter butterfly.
The 100-meter freestyle was also dominated by the H2Okies. Trabuchi-Downey, junior Griffin Lutterbein and senior Ben Miller were part of this one-two-three finish for Tech.
Lastly, sophomore Carter Moore, Huss and freshman Nevin Cook were the top three in the 200-meter breaststroke race.
The diving squads also had their share of success on Saturday afternoon.
For the women, sophomore Sarah Milton won the 1-meter dive with a score of 281.10. She also claimed second in the 3-meter dive, behind freshman Cara Murnan.
It was the first victory of the season for Murnan, ending with a score of 304.88.
As for the men, junior Mikey McDonald finished on top in the 3-meter dive. He ended with a final score of 407.40.
The H2Okies return on Nov. 19-22 at the Volunteer Invitational, to be held in Knoxville, Tenn.
-- Brian Wright