Virginia Tech’s volleyball team continued its early season success by going undefeated for the third weekend in a row in the Cavalier Invitational at the University of Virginia.
The two wins, over in-state rival Virginia and Towson, propelled the Hokies to their second consecutive 10-1 start.
“This year is different, and the team is different and we started out well last year, but we’ve played much tougher competition this year,” said Chris Riley, head coach. “We are more consistent with what we’re trying to do, so I am pretty happy where we are now. We’re a better team this year than last year.”
In the first match against UVa (5-5, 0-1 ACC), the Hokies rallied from a 2-1 deficit to eventually win the match in five sets. The victory was Tech’s first over the Cavaliers in Charlottesville since Sept. 1, 1992, and its 600th win in program history.
The first set was close throughout, with 10 ties and four lead changes, until the Hokies went on a six-point streak to take the lead 22-16, eventually going on to nab the set 25-19.
The Cavaliers responded in the second set by jumping out to an early 11-4 lead. UVa never trailed, holding the Hokies to 14 points en route to a 25-14 win.
UVa kept the momentum, going on a scoring tear in the third set after an initial 13-13 draw. The Cavaliers scored seven straight points and never looked back as they won the set 25-16.
The Hokies took an early 14-11 lead in the fourth set, increasing it to 21-17. Tech won the set, tying the match at two with a 25-20 victory.
Outside hitter Jennifer Wiker carried the Hokies in the tiebreaker set, racking up five kills to lead Tech to a 15-13 win. Wiker led the match with a career-high 21 kills, the most for the Hokies since senior Felicia Willoughby notched 21 against Duke last year.
In their second match of the weekend, the Hokies had an easy sweep of the Towson Tigers 25-20, 25-18, 25-13.
Last year, the Hokies’ first loss occurred against UVa and their preseason tournament schedule was not nearly as tough as it was this year.
A version of this article appeared in the Sep 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Good article. Go VT ladies!
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