Hurricanes Overpower Virginia Tech in Three Games
Oct. 24, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team extended their winning streak to five when they defeated ACC rival Virginia Tech , 3-0 (30-20, 30-24, 30-20), Sunday afternoon at the Knight Sports Complex. With the win the Hurricanes improve their record to 12-6 and 7-3 in the ACC.
“This was a great team win,” said head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch after the match. “Winning in three is always a great accomplishment.”
The match saw four Miami players post double-digit kill efforts. Senior outside hitter Valeria Tipiana led all players with 13 kills followed by redshirt sophomore Francheska Savage who posted 12 kills on 18 swings for a match-high .556 hitting percentage. She also added three block assists.
“Francheska had an awesome match attacking and blocking the ball effectively.”
Senior Elizabeth Tyson and junior Karla Johnson tallied 10 kills a piece. Tyson and Tipiana each registered two service aces in the three game match. Sophomore Jill Robinson dished out 45 assists while senior Jamie Grass recorded a match-high 15 digs. Redshirt freshman Ciara Michel posted four blocks assists to lead all players.
As a team the Hurricanes hit a match-high .382, their best hitting effort since their October 1st win over Wake Forest. Miami out-hit the Hokies 53 to 38 and forced 21 errors.
“We hit great as a team when we were on system, “noted Lantagne. “Jill did a good job dishing out the ball.”
A Tipiana service ace opened up the scoring in game one, prompting the Hurricanes to take an early 4-2 lead. The Hokies battled back to within one but could not solve the Hurricanes who never trailed after the first point. Miami lead by as many 13 points and took the first game, 30-20. The Hurricanes held the Hokies to a match-low 10 kills and .114 hitting percentage.
Game two unfolded in much the same way with the Hurricanes getting on the board first and climbing to a 12-6 lead after a Johnson kill. The Hurricanes extended their lead to 15-9 after a kill by Tipiana. The Hokies battled back after a timeout to pull within four but were plagued by a match-high eight attacking errors. A Virginia Tech attacking error, gave the Hurricanes a 30-24 win.
The Hurricanes started game three with a six point run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Tyson. Miami went on a 4-2 run to give them a 16-9 lead. The Hurricanes maintained a 10 point lead throughout the remainder of the game, and eventually took a 30-20 win and the match. Miami posted a match-high .471 hitting percentage and committed only two errors in 34 tries.
For the Hokies, Annie Spicer and Colette Ramirez hit a team-high nine kills each. Melissa Markowski tallied 27 assists and Amanda Cloyd posted 13 digs. With the loss, the Hokies fall to 11-11 overall and 5-5 in ACC play.
The Hurricanes take their five-match win streak on the road when they travel to South Carolina for an ACC-match-up against Clemson Friday at 7:00 pm.
