Despite the win, head coach Chris Riley felt the team could have played better.
"I think we were pretty balanced, I think our outsides did a great job," Riley said. "Justine and Taylor really carried the load. We're just a little off synch with (Kirsty) Blue in the middle today. She was a half a second late and that allowed the block to get on her, so that made it a little difficult for us, but all in all we're moving in the right direction."
Tech came out with a purpose early, taking an 8-2 lead on the Wolfpack.
State rallied late to force a tie at 22, but the Hokies held on as they usually do in tight sets, winning 25-23 behind a Kirsty Blue kill.
"They don't have any fear when it's 23-23 and we win those games," Riley said. "But as a coach, I don't want to give up any free points and that's kind of what we talked about. We gave away points there and I don't like that."
The Hokies won the set with great defense, holding the Wolfpack to a .125 hitting percentage and forcing six errors. Tech had seven errors in the set, but their .220 hitting percentage was the difference.
In the second set, the Hokies again played well early, developing a solid lead mid way through the set, 18-11, off of a Justine Record ace. State would rally late, though, pushing the set to 23-22 before eventually losing 25-22.
Defense was key again for the Hokies, holding State to just a .200 hitting percentage, but Tech committed another seven attack errors, keeping the Wolfpack in the set.
Despite the errors, the Hokies appeared confident and loose as a team, visibly frustrating the Wolfpack players with their superior play.
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. State players simply could not score against the Tech defense, finishing the set with a -.118 hitting percentage and 11 attack errors.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Kristen Cunningham was pleased with how they played as a team.
"Everyone had an impact out on the court," she said. "Our team is so well balanced, we depend on everyone on the bench and everyone out on the court to get their job done and tonight was a really good team effort."
Despite State's 10th place standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the victory was a significant one for the Hokies.
"Against Georgia Tech we played pretty well, just lost every close point," Riley said. "Clemson, we got blown out, and we were looking forward to get back on the winning way, and get back to what we're trying to do."
Cunningham felt that the win may help the Hokies restore their confidence and get back to their winning ways from earlier in the season.
"Well, a win is a win," Cunningham said. "It feels great no matter what. But I think really coming out and winning in three and winning strongly in three is definitely a boost to our confidence. We'll definitely hopefully carry this over to tomorrow."
With the win tonight, the Hokies improved to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in the ACC. Tech will be in action again Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
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