Ticket Market Place
Sports Radio Network | 
Travel Center & Info
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Coastal Carolina (0-4 (0-0 Big South)) | 16 | 25 | 16 | 0 |
 Virginia Tech (3-1 (0-0 ACC)) | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
| ||||
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech volleyball team opened its home season with a bang, sweeping the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina on the first day of the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational. Senior libero Amy Wengrenovich led the match with a career-high 23 digs. Jacksonville State defeated Long Island earlier in the day, also by a score of 3-0.
The Hokies got off to a running start, quickly earning a 15-5 lead in the first set. The Chanticleers battled their way up to 16 points, but the Hokies easily toppled them, 25-16. Tech stuffed four blocks in the set, including three block assists by sophomore Cara Baarendse.
The two squads headed into a gritty battle in set two, with 13 ties and nine lead changes. Neither team ever led by more than three points, and the Chanticleers did not achieve a lead larger than one throughout the set. After going up 24-23, the Hokies found themselves facing match point, down 25-24, when back-to-back kills by Jennifer Wiker put Tech back on top, and Felicia Willoughby finally closed the door, giving the Hokies a 27-25 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. Wiker and Willoughby combined for 10 kills in the set, and the rookie duo of Victoria Hamsher and Samantha Gostling added another six to the mix.
The third set resembled the previous one at the start, with the score knotted 9-8 in favor of the Hokies, when Tech went on an 8-2 run to take a 17-10 lead and eventually put the set away, 25-16, earning their second 3-0 victory of the season.
Felicia Willoughby led the Hokies with 10 kills in the match, earning her team-leading third double-digit kill match of the season. Freshman Samantha Gostling followed closely with nine kills, and Jennifer Wiker totaled eight. Victoria Hamsher stuffed a career-high seven kills in the match as did sophomore Cara Baarendse. Chanticleer Erika Lightsey led both teams with 12 kills, and Megan Bickford added six more for Coastal Carolina.
Erin Leaser notched a match-leading 32 assists, and Amy Wengrenovich broke her personal record for digs, set on Aug. 24, 2007, against Virginia Commonwealth, with 23 of the team’s 54. Tech outblocked the Chanticleers, 6-4, and Willoughby had a team-best three block assists and the only Tech block solo.
The Hokies return to action tomorrow at noon to take on the Blackbirds of Long Island University, followed by the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the final match of the Invitational at 7 p.m. Live audio broadcasts will be available on Hokies All-Access and livestats will be posted on www.hokiesports.com/volleyball/live.
For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_VBall).
