Miami Falls to Virginia Tech in Five Games
Sept. 26, 2004
Blacksburg, Va. – The University of Miami women’s volleyball team dropped a 3-2 (30-18, 26-30, 26-30, 30-17, 15-17) decision to Virginia Tech in ACC Action Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum, putting a close to the Hurricanes’ three-match winning streak. Miami now holds a 5-4 overall record and are 1-1 in ACC play.
The Hurricanes were led by senior outside hitter Valeria Tipiana who posted her first double-double of the season by connecting on 26 kills and tallying 10 digs. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Ciara Michel posted a career-high 11 block assists and a team-high .412 attack percentage. Sophomore setter Jill Robinson set a season-high 60 assists while also posting a career-high 18 digs to lead all Miami players. Junior outside hitter/middle blocker Karla Johnson tallied a career-high four service aces in the five game match.
Miami dominated the first game after taking an early 8-5 lead. The Hokies trailed by as many as 10 points before they closed the gap to 24-16. The Hurricanes put the game away with at 6-3 run to finish the score at 30-18. Miami held the Hokies to a .091 hitting percentage in the game.
The Hokies took an early 12-9 lead in game two before Miami came back to tie the score at 15-all. Two Miami hitting errors and a Virginia Tech six-point run brought the score to 23-17. The Hurricanes capitalized on three back-to-back Virginia Tech attack errors to pull within three points before a service error of their own gave the Hokies a 30-26 lead and the win.
Both teams stayed within one point of each other, in game three, to tie the score at 12 before Virginia Tech went on an eight point run to take a 20-12 lead. Miami could not overcome the four-point deficit as the Hokies won 30-26.
In game four,The Hurricanes fought off a fiery Virginia Tech squad to force a game five with an 11-point run to gain a 12-point lead. An Amy Youngs kill and a Jamie Grass service ace put the game away, 30-27.
Miami took an early 10-7 lead in the deciding game. The Hokies were able to tie the score at 10-10, however, to then go on a four-point run to take a one point lead. Miami tied the score at 14 after consecutive kills from Youngs and Tipiana but two errors would give the Hokies the game, 17-15, and the match.
As a team, the Hurricanes connected on more service aces (10) than the Hokies (8) but suffered 10 service errors as opposed to Virginia Tech’s six. The total matches a Miami team match record for service aces in a five game match.
Both teams suffered 36 hitting errors with Miami posting a slightly higher hitting percentage .181, than the Hokies’ .162. The Hurricanes led the match with 73 kills and 15 total blocks while the Hokies posted 67 kills and eight total blocks.
Due to Hurricane Jeanne Miami was forced to cancel their Monday night match against Central Florida. Stay tuned to hurricanesports.com for Miami volleyball schedule changes, news, results and statistics.
