Hokies get revenge on tar heels in five sets

Joey Robertson

September 26, 2020

BLACKSBURG - In the second match of Virginia Tech's two-game series versus North Carolina, the Hokies bounced back from a Thursday night loss to win in five sets on Friday.

In the first set, the Hokies took an early lead after an 8-3 run. The Tar Heels responded by pulling within one point of Tech's lead, but the Hokies used a late scoring run to win 25-18. Outside hitter Ashley Homan had three kills in the first set for the Hokies, while Aziah Buckner tallied three kills for Carolina.

The second set wasn’t as easy for the Hokies as they had a tough time pulling away from the Tar Heels. It was a back and forth set with Carolina tying the score at 25. Tech responded by scoring two straight points, with a kill from freshman outside hitter Cierra Huntley securing the 27-25 set victory.

North Carolina came into the third set with a different mentality and it worked. The Tar Heels led 14-7 halfway through the set. The Hokies tried to mount a late run but fell short as North Carolina took a 25-21 victory.

The Hokies got off to a great start in the fourth set and led 11-3 at one point. The Tar Heels responded with a blistering run to eventually take the lead 20-19. The action went back and forth between the two squads, but Carolina escaped the set with a 25-22 victory to even the match at two sets apiece.

The fifth set was a wild one. Both teams were diving for balls all over the court, and the Hokies used back-to-back kills from Homan to take the momentum away from the Tar Heels. Tech used the momentum win the set 15-10, which won them the match in five sets.

The offensive player of the game goes to outside hitter Kaity Smith. The graduate senior posted her 25^th career double-double, tallying 21 kills, 14 digs and one block. She was the leader and the stat sheet stuffer for the Hokies' offense in Friday's win.

Homan was nother player that stepped up for the Hokies. The graduate senior posted her second straight double-double with 10 kills, 11 points, and a team-high 17 digs.

Tech also received a big performance from right-side hitter Marisa Cerchio. The senior tallied 15 kills, 19 points, and one dig, and she was a part of the Hokies' three-headed monster on offense. Between Cerchio, Smith and Homan, Tech's offense looks extremely dangerous.

The Tar Heels were helped by another solid performance from freshman outside hitter Aziah Buckner, who tallied 15 kills, topping her career best. She also added 15.5 points and four digs in UNC's loss.

Sophomore outside hitter Parker Austin also played a big role for Carolina. Austin tallied a team high 17 kills, while adding two aces and 12 digs.

Hokies head coach Marci Byers earned her first ACC win Tech holds a 2-1 record heading into its first road game of the season at NC State on Friday, Oct. 2.

For the Tar Heels, they drop to 1-1 on the year and return to Chapel Hill to host Virginia on Friday, Oct. 9.