Tech opened its afternoon with an impressive win in straight sets against Winston-Salem State. The match was never in doubt and the Hokies cruised to victory 25-6, 25-10, 25-12.
In the evening match, the Hokies faced a worthy foe in Coastal Carolina, who won its first two matches of the invitational against Winston-Salem State and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The teams traded points early in the first set, with Coastal Carolina beginning to pull away early with a 12-8 lead. Tech took a timeout to stop Coastal Carolina's momentum and the team fought back to tie the score at 14.
The Hokies and Chanticleers continued their tight play down to the end, with the Hokies taking the set 25-23.
As the second set began, the score remained close and neither team could separate from the other. Late in the set, the Hokies pulled away 20-15, but they gave up their lead after a Coastal Carolina rally. Tech would eventually recover to take the set 25-23.
The Hokies came out fast in the third set, taking a 7-2 lead early on, but Coastal Carolina came back quickly to tie the score at eight. Both teams continued to play well throughout the third set, trading the lead and playing hard for each point.
As the end of the set approached, both teams were locked at 20 each. Tech and Coastal Carolina traded points back and forth until the Hokies eventually dropped the set, 24-26.
After dropping the third set, the Hokies came out on fire, going up 5-0 early on the Chanticleers. The Hokies would never look back, winning the set 25-16 on a kill by Betsy Horowitz; Tech led by as many as 10 during the set.
With the win, the Hokies won the tournament and have brought their record to 3-0.
Despite winning the tournament, head coach Chris Riley does not think the team is playing on an ACC level yet.
"I think we played better," Riley said. "I think we still have a lot of work to do but I think we played better. I'm excited about the future. It's encouraging, but I think it just lets us know where we are and how much work we have to do."
Redshirt junior Jillian Gergen and true freshman Erin Leaser were named to the all-tournament team and junior Betsy Horowitz was named MVP.
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