hokies volleyball falls to unc in four sets in game one
Kyler Hatke
September 25, 2020
Virginia Tech outside hitter Ashley Homan attacks a ball at the net against North Carolina on Sept. 24 in Cassell Colliseum. (Virginia Tech athletics)
BLACKSBURG - In the first of Virginia Tech’s volleyball two games against North Carolina, the Hokies fell to the Tar Heels in four sets.
In the first set, UNC was led by freshman Kaya Merkler, who tallied four kills on seven attacks, and the duo of Maylen Mitrovich and Annabelle Archer, who combined for nine assists. The Hokies put up a good fight thanks to six kills from Kaity Smith and nine assists between Logan Mosley and Brie Postema. On paper, it looked like the Hokies might win the set in a close one, but nine errors from Tech and a late run by the Tar Heels helped UNC win 25-22.
The Hokies got revenge in the second set thanks to six additional kills from Smith. Marisa Cerchio contributed as well, recording five kills. Tech allowed UNC to come back to tie it up at 16, but the Hokies played a really nice set overall, minimizing errors and capitalizing on attacks that ultimately ended in them winning the second set 26-24, tying the match 1-1
Tech slipped back into its old ways in the third set, combining again for nine errors. Smith, Cerchio and Homan started to cool down and the Tar Heels blew out the Hokies in the third set, 25-15.
Tech started to bounce back a bit in the fourth set thanks to six kills from Homan and three more from Cerchio. The Hokies put up a good fight to bring the series to a fifth set, but freshman Aziah Buckner answered the call from coach Joe Sagula and tallied seven kills on nine attacks to put the nail in the coffin for UNC. The Tar Heels escaped with a 25-20 win in the fourth set to win the match 3-1.
It may seem as if the Hokies were out played by the Tar Heels, but the full score, 99-83, shows that the match was much closer. Tech learned that they can’t depend on Homan, Cerchio and Smith all season and when they have down sets or even down matches, they need other players to step-up. UNC learned that they have some special freshmen in Aziah Buckner, Kaya Merkler and Maylen Mitrovich.
The top stat lines of the game go to Tech’s Ashley Homan with 15 kills and Carolina’s Maylen Mitrovich with 23 assists.
The Hokies (1-1, 0-1 ACC) take on the Tar Heels (1-0, 1-0 ACC) again in Cassell Coliseum at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 25th in their third game of the season.