virginia tech volleyball preview

Joey Robertson, Duncan Weigand and Kyler Hatke

September 14, 2020

Fall sports are almost back in full swing at Virginia Tech. With a COVID shortened season, Tech volleyball is looking to build off of a 2019 season that had some ups and downs.

Tech posted a 11-20 last season and finished 4-14 in conference play. However, despite the record, the Hokies won the Army Svoboda Memorial Classic Tournament Title with three straight wins. The Hokies also got their first win against a ranked team since 2015 when they defeated number 23 ranked Louisville in four sets on October 20.

At the end of the season, then-head coach Jill Wilson resigned due to personal reasons. Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock hired Radford head coach Marci Byers, who holds the record for most wins in program history. With most of the team returning and a solid incoming freshman class, what should we expect from Tech’s volleyball team during this nine-game season?

The Schedule

The Citadel:

The Hokies begin the season at home against The Citadel on Thursday, Sept. 17. Like the Hokies, the Bulldogs finished with a 11-20 record in 2019. Tech has yet to play a game this season but the Citadel are 0-1 after falling to Mercer in four sets on Saturday. With this being a non-conference game, the Hokies should make light work of The Citadel and take home their first victory of the season.

North Carolina

In a two-game series on Sept. 24 and 25, the Hokies will host North Carolina in Cassell Coliseum. In the last meeting in Nov. of 2019, the Hokies won in five sets thanks to a big game from Kaity Smith that included 26 kills and 12 digs. Smith also had help on offense with Marisa Cerchio and Taylyn Jackson, who both recorded double digit kills. Defensively, Angel Robinson finished with three blocks while Jackson led Tech with 16 kills.

For the Tar Heels, they will be in the hunt for a replacement for First-Team ACC selection Lauren Harrison, who transferred to Baylor in the off-season. It will be a challenge for Tar Heels head coach Joe Sagula, who holds a 614-355 (63.4%) record in 30 seasons at UNC and is considered one of the greatest coaches in NCAA volleyball history. With eight new members, including four talented freshman and sophomore transfer Niki Khoshatefeh, who totaled 167 kills and 78 blocks as a freshman at UMBC, there are plenty of options to fill that role. These match-ups could end up being very close and will be a good test to see how Byers stacks up against one of the greatest and experienced current volleyball coaches in the country.

NC State

The Hokies will play their first away games when they take on NC State in a two-game series on Oct. 2 and 3. Like Tech, NC State had a subpar 2019 season, finishing with an overall record of 11-19 and a mere 6-12 in conference play. In the only meeting between Tech and NC State, the Wolfpack won in five sets. The Wolfpack, however, are historically weak against Tech, having a record of 8-19 since 2003. NC State also made a coaching change this offseason, hiring Luka Slabe, an assistant coach of the USA Women's Volleyball National Team.

Along with the addition of a new head coach comes 2 players - Sydney Ferguson, a transfer from Penn State, and freshman Taylor Mackenzie, who enrolled in December of 2019. Both are going to be key contributors to the Wolfpack this season. It's a very even matchup, so the Hokies should split the weekend series.

Duke

After facing NC State on the road, the Hokies will travel to Durham to face Duke. The two-game series will be held on Oct. 9 and 10. Duke went 12-19 last year, one win better than the Hokies. Tech had problems with the Blue Devils last year, losing the lone matchup in four sets. The Hokies got clobbered in the first set 25-12, but had a strong second set to even the match at one apiece. They would then lose two straight to drop the match. Like NC State, it's another pretty even matchup, so Tech should split this one as well.

Virginia

The Hokies will return to Cassell after a month on the road to host rival Virginia on Oct. 16 and 18. In the last match-up on Nov. 27, 2019, the Hokies fell to the Cavaliers in three sets. In that match-up, the Hokies were led by Marisa Cerchio with 6 kills and 3 blocks. In that contest, UVa coach Aaron Smith threw his two-headed dragon of Jelena Novakovic and Sarah Billiard at the Hokies, with the duo recording 18 kills.

Aaron Smith won 13 games in his third year at UVa in 2019, and he returns a talented squad for his fourth season. Sarah Billiard, a productive senior for the Cavaliers, will have the role of mentoring UVa’s five impressive freshmen this season. This late season contest between the Hokies and Cavaliers will be a fairly even one, though the Cavaliers may have the edge.

Players to Watch?

The Hokies have a good amount of talented playmakers on their 2020 roster:

• No. 23 Talyn Jackson: In 2019, the junior setter was the leader of the Hokies offense. She had a season high of 54 assists vs. UC Irvine, 10 kills vs. UNC, 16 digs vs. UNC, 3 aces vs Arkansas State, and 3 total blocks vs. Duke. Jackson also led the team in total assists with 1,027 assists last season.

• No. 19 Marisa Cerchio: Last season, the senior middle blocker/right side hitter was known as the finisher for the Hokies. She had a team high 312 kills and had plenty of season highs: 15 kills vs. UVa, 17 points vs. Wake Forest, and 8 total blocks vs. Clemson.

• No. 1 Kaity Smith: The outside hitter had a season high of 16 digs vs. Notre Dame and 24 kills and 26 points vs. UNC. The graduate student has seen it all with the Hokies, and she’ll look to provide a spark in a new regime in Blacksburg.

• No. 4 Logan Mosley: As a freshman in 2019, the liberoset a school record 39 digs vs. Davidson. She also set career highs of six assists vs. UNC and four aces vs. USC Upstate.

• No. 9 Mara Perry: The freshman defensive specialist ventures to Blacksburg from Muncie, Ind., where she was named AAU All-Americans in 2016 and 2018.

There are a lot of bright spots on the Virginia Tech volleyball roster, but after a short decline from 14 to 11 wins in the 2019 season, this short COVID-19 season could be beneficial for the Hokies. The 2020 season could be a preview of what new head coach Marci Byers can do coaching young players, while also testing how her game plans make the most out of upperclassman and graduate students. The short season comes with no guarantees that any of the games will be played, but at the very least, it will be to see college volleyball played, especially in Blacksburg.