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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Felicia Willoughby and freshman Victoria Hamsher swept the ACC’s weekly awards this week as Willoughby earned ACC Player of the Week and Hamsher earned ACC Freshman of the Week. This is Willoughby’s second time receiving this honor, as she also won it on November 17, 2008. Hamsher is the first Hokie ever to win ACC Freshman of the Week. No Hokie has won a freshman weekly honor since Katie Esbrook was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on October 27, 2003. Willoughby was also named Virginia Tech Athlete of the Week for her outstanding play in the Hokies’ last two matches.

Felicia Willoughby helped lead the Hokies to a perfect 2-0 week at home in ACC play. She attacked at a .731 clip, going 19-for-26 with no errors on Thursday night against Duke, leading the Hokies to their second win over the Blue Devils in program history. The Blue Devils, who were the only undefeated team in ACC play heading into that night, were ranked ninth in the RPI and 26^th in the AVCA national poll. In addition to her season-high 19 kills, which moved her into ninth place all-time on the Hokies for career kills, she stuffed six blocks, one solo, further increasing her lead in the two blocking records she set earlier this season.

Willoughby had another strong outing on Friday night against Wake Forest, hitting .450 with 10 kills, two blocks and two assists in the 3-0 sweep of the Demon Deacons. Overall, Willoughby hit .609 on the week, helping move the team into second place in the ACC in hitting percentage and 32^nd in the nation. She is now hitting .404 on the season, which leads the ACC and ranks 15^th in country. If she continues to play as consistently as she has, she would retire in first place all-time in career hitting percentage, currently hitting .333 which surpasses Esbrook’s .324 mark, and she would break the Hokies’ single-season record of .402, which she set back in 2008.

Victoria Hamsher had her best week yet, registering 17 kills in 29 attempts for a .414 hitting percentage over the two matches. She registered back-to-back service aces in the first set against Wake Forest, recording her first career multi-ace match. Hamsher led the match in blocks versus Duke, notching two block solos and five block assists, contributing to seven of the Hokies’ 15 blocks. Hamsher, who set a new all-time record for block assists and a 3-set match, stuffing 10 at Towson earlier this season, leads the team in block assists and is on pace to put her name in both the freshman and the overall single-season record books in all three blocking categories. She entered the week ranked 29^th in the country among freshmen in blocks per set, averaging 0.91, and has since raised that figure to 0.96, moving her into 25^th.

The Hokies return to action on Oct. 22, when they hit the road for North Carolina and NC State. The two North Carolina teams are the only ACC members that the Hokies only face once this season. Tech will play at North Carolina at 7 p.m. on Friday, then at NC State at 7 p.m. Saturday.

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