NO. 14 FIGHTING IRISH SWEEP HOKIES IN THREE SETS

Joey Robertson

March 14, 2021

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After the first two matches of the season were cancelled, Virginia Tech traveled down south to face off against No. 14 Notre Dame.

In the first set, the Hokies showed a lot of rust as the Irish took the lead early and never looked back, taking the set 25-14. The Irish posted a hitting percentage of .286, which was superior to the Hokies percentage of .135. The Irish also posted 10 kills in the set.

The second set was much closer as the Hokies showed some fight. Notre Dame once had a four-point lead in the set. The Hokies were able to trim the lead to two, but that was the closest they got to the Irish as Notre Dame ultimately took the second set, 25-23.

The third set was much like the first as the Irish flexed their muscles early on and went on two seperate four-point runs as they finished off the Hokies 25-16.

The Irish benefited off of strong performances from outside hitter Charley Niego who posted a near double-double with eight kills and eight digs. Freshman Aubrey Hamilton added 11 kills and four digs. Setter Zoe Nunez also recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 11 digs.

For the Hokies, outside hitter Ashley Homan was once again a force out on the court. She notched a team-high 11 kills for the Hokies offense, and sits at exactly 100 kills on the season. Outside hitter Kaity Smith added to the books by recording six kills, nine digs and two aces. Outside hitter Cera Powell also notched her season-high in kills with eight in the losing effort.

The loss drops Virginia Tech to 5-5 on the season and 4-5 in conference play. Meanwhile, Notre Dame improves to 10-2 overall and 9-2 in ACC play.

The Hokies will be back in action Sunday versus the Florida State Seminoles, who beat the Irish on Friday night. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

The Fighting Irish will be back in action March 20 versus Wake Forest in Chapel Hill, N.C.