Luke Mason/SPPSHokies guard Laura Haskins dribbles at the top of the key. Tech beat St. Joeseph's last Friday, but then suffered its first loss to No. 17 Vanderbilt.
The Virginia Tech women's basketball team split a pair of games this weekend as it traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to participate in the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament.After advancing to the finals by beating the St. Joseph's Hawks on Friday, the Hokies suffered their first loss of the season Saturday to the No. 17 Vanderbilt Commodores. Tech won a close match-up in its first game of the tournament in a 66-63 win over St. Joe's. With the score tight throughout the game, Tech pulled away a little in the second half, leading by as much as eight. But the Hawks mounted a comeback and a three-point play by Amy Gillespie brought them back within two points.After a Hokies turnover, the Hawks had a chance to take the lead but missed a three-point shot and were forced to foul Tech's Laura Haskins. The senior guard hit one of two foul shots, extending Tech's lead to three. St. Joseph's had one more chance to tie, but another missed three-point shot secured the Hokie victory.
Junior guard Lindsay Biggs led the way for the Hokies, tallying 17 points, just two shy of her career high. Also contributing for Tech was junior forward Utahya Drye, who tallied 15 points, and Amber Hall who had 14.
In the finals, Vanderbilt beat Tech in a tough game, 72-43. The Hokies turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, which led to a 38-19 Vanderbilt lead at intermission. The Hokies turned the ball over 21 times during the game.
Drye, who was named to the All-tournament team, Biggs and freshman forward Brittany Lewis all had eight points for Tech.
-- by Chad Mosesso
VOLLEYBALL FINISHES SEASON WITH LOSS TO CAVALIERS, ENDS UP SEVENTH IN FINAL ACC STANDINGS
The Tech volleyball team ended its season on a low note Friday by dropping its final match to Virginia, 21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19 and 12-15.
The Hokies traveled to Charlottesville to face the Cavaliers and quickly went down two sets to none.
Battling back, Tech grabbed the following two sets to even the match, but Virginia prevailed in the fifth set to take the victory. This loss marked the second consecutive five-set loss for the Hokies.
Once again, mistakes hurt Tech, with 40 total errors to Virginia's 25.
Defense kept the Hokies in the game, holding the Cavaliers to a .205 hitting percentage, but the Tech offense only hit .173.
With the loss, the Hokies end their season 20-11, with an 11-9 Atlantic Coast Conference record, good for seventh place.
Although Tech reached 20 wins and matched its best conference-win total since joining the ACC, it suffered through a tough late-season slump.
The team started out with the best record in program history, but midway through its conference slate, it dropped eight of its last 12 matches after winning seven of its first eight in conference.
Tech was in position to receive an NCAA tournament bid for much of the season, but the poor late-season play took it out of contention, with the ACC bids going to Duke, North Carolina and Clemson.
-- by Joe Crandley
WRESTLING GOES TO 3-0 IN CHATTANOOGA; DIAZ UPSETS NATION'S NO. 4 PLAYER
The Tech wrestling team traveled to Tennessee this weekend in a dual-match contest against the hosting Chattanooga Mocs and the Anderson Trojans.
The first match of the day came easy with a 42-3 win over Anderson, where Jesse Dong (157 pounds) and David Marone (285 pounds) each came up with a pin.
Meanwhile Jarrod Garnett (125 pounds), Chris Diaz (141 pounds), and Matt Epperly (165 pounds) had major decisions.
Matt Rosen (149 pounds) and Tim Miller (197 pounds) each had a decision.
Anthony Trongone (174 pounds) and Tommy Spellman (184 pounds) won by forfeit, while Brock Livorio lost 7-6.
The headliner of the day came in the second match in which Tech won 37-0 against the Mocs. Diaz upset No. 4 Cody Cleveland, who finished eighth in last year's NCAA championships in the 141-pound weight class.
Spellman picked up the lone fall of the match, while Garnett harnessed his second major decision of the day.
Along with Diaz, other winners included Yates, Dong, Epperly, Trongone, Bruce and Marone. Jared Jones won by forfeit. The Tech team had only beaten the Mocs once before in nine prior matches.
This weekend, several wrestlers will compete in the Las Vegas Invitational, where Tech finished 22nd last year. Beyond that, the next dual meet for the team will be in Texas on Jan. 3 at the Lone Star Duals.
-- by Lindsay Faulkner
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