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The Virginia Tech lacrosse team travels to Michigan this week to begin its Spring Break road swing. The Hokies will face Michigan on Wednesday night, before traveling to No. 17 Notre Dame this weekend. Tech is looking to bounce back after falling at No. 5 Duke, 15-10, on Friday to open conference play.

Michigan enters the midweek game at 3-2 on the year, having bounced back after opening the season with a pair of losses. The Wolverines recently picked up a pair of wins during their Spring Break trip to California. Michigan rounded out the trip with a 22-8 win over St. Mary’s.

Jess Angerman, who has scored 12 goals this year, leads the Wolverines on offense. Anna Schueler adds 10 goals for Michigan, as well as a team-best 18 draws. In cage, Allison Silber boasts the team’s record, allowing just over 11 goals per game.

THE SERIES

This is the first ever meeting between the Hokies and Wolverines. This is just the second season of varsity lacrosse for the Wolverines and the first year for the Big Ten Conference. Tech faced another Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, earlier this season.

LAST TIME OUT

The Hokies opened conference play last week on the road at No. 5 Duke. The unbeaten Blue Devils seemed to dominate early, going up 3-0, but Tech was not bothered by the difference and responded with a 5-1 run to take the lead on two different occasions. The game saw three more ties as well as three lead changes, as neither team led by more than one goal until midway through the second half.

Duke eventually began to pull away to seal the game, but the Hokies were still able to keep things close. Seniors Megan Will and Meg Bartley combined to scored seven of Tech's 10 goals, and Meagh Graham played a very aggressive game in cage and finished with six saves.

RECORD WATCH

Senior Megan Will has soared up the all-time offensive lists in Tech’s record book and now ranks second in both scoring (147) and points (190). Will is also seventh all-time at Tech with 43 career assists. She is on pace to surpass her cousin and Tech all-time leader in goals and points, Dawn Will, by the end of the season.

Meg Bartley also ranks among Tech’s best as she is closing in on the all-time draw controls record. Bartley needs just five more draws to match the record, held by Allie Emala. She enters the week of play with 240 so far. Also working her way up the draws chart is junior Meghan Macera, who ranks eighth with 104 to date.

SCORING AT WILL

Senior Megan Will is currently in the midst of a 12-game scoring streak that dates back to last season. The Bel Air, Maryland, native entered the week as the ACC’s leader in scoring (27) and points (34).

Will has scored at least three goals in 11 of the last 12 games, as she climbs all three all-time offensive stat lists at Tech.

BARTLEY, AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE

Senior Meg Bartley walked on to the Tech lacrosse team in the fall of 2011 and as the 2012 season began she made a quick and efficient impact. The Lewes, Delaware, native earned a starting job on attack by the fifth game, after scoring four goals and assisting another against UC Davis at home and has been a staple in the lineup ever since.

Bartley has been a huge threat for the Hokies on the draw. After setting a new Tech single-season record last year, she led the way for Tech in the opener, winning eight draws and five more against JMU and matched a career best with 10 against Old Dominion.

LIMITING THE OPPONENT

The Hokies neared the first shutout in program history over the weekend as they held Gardner-Webb scoreless until there was under four minutes remaining in the game. Tech eventually won the game 20-1, marking just the second game ever that the Hokies have held their opponent to a single goal (at St. Bonaventure, 4/23/00).

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