Canes Take Down Hokies for First ACC Victory

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The University of Miami volleyball team came out victorious over the Virginia Tech Hokies, 3-1, to claim its first ACC win of the season, Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.

Miami (8-4, 1-1 ACC) tallied 57 kills, 61 digs, 54 assists and seven blocks to capture the victory. Sophomore Flormarie Heredia Colon led the offense with 19 kills on a .325 percentage, while freshman Grace Lopez racked up 14 kills.

Freshman Grace Lopez got set one started by earning the first three kills for the Canes, where she went on to tally seven in the first set to notch over 100 kills on the season. Despite both teams claiming 13 kills, Virginia Tech maintained the lead and took the first set, 25-17.

The Canes bounced back for set two by Heredia Colon showing out to gain some momentum for Miami and claimed her 100th kill of the season. After a kill by graduate Abby Casiano, kill by junior Peyman Yardimci and an ace by junior Yaidaliz Rosado, the Canes started to close in on the Hokies, only being down 12-13. Fifth-year setter Savannah Vach gave the Canes the lead with two aces and five straight points with her behind the line. Miami pulled away and took the competitive set two, 25-21.

Miami grabbed an early 9-4 lead to open set three after back-to-back kills from Casiano. She then earned a huge block to keep the lead for the Canes, 17-14. Heredia Colon kept the energy up with multiple back-to-back kills. Miami’s 18 kills and two blocks led them to claim set three, 25-23.

The Canes controlled set four and pulled away quick with an 8-0 scoring run to make it 17-8. With consecutive blocks from Casiano, Yardimci and Lopez, Miami extended the lead to 19-9 and didn’t stop there. The team closed the final set with a .421 hitting percentage to take the set, 25-11.

The Hurricanes will return home for conference play to face Duke and UNC on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, respectively.