October 4, 2014
Tech downs NC State, 3-1
Owens and McKinzie combine for 26 kills
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NC State (12-3) 202714191
Virginia Tech (8-8) 252525253
  • Cassell Coliseum - 708

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech volleyball team picked up its first ACC win of the season, defeating NC State 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-14, 25-19) on Saturday evening at Cassell Coliseum.

“It was a great match against a good team,” said head coach Chris Riley. “I thought we played exceptionally clean in our serving game and forced them to be very good on the attack. We played low error volleyball and that’s the key to us being successful.”

Lindsey Owens knocked down 15 kills and tallied 18 digs for the Hokies (8-8, 1-2 ACC). Amanda McKinzie also recorded a double-double for Tech with 11 kills and 13 digs. Jordan Fish and Kyra Coundourides put up 30 and 18 assists, respectively.

On the defensive side, Ashley Battle and LaTasha Samson-Akpan were strong at the net with six blocks each. Battle and Samson-Akpan were also solid on the offensive side as Battle tallied nine kills and Samson-Akpan added eight. Megan Beckwith recorded 18 digs.

“Ashley and Tasha made zero errors in the attack game and that’s tremendous,” Riley said. “They did a great job for us today.”

The Hokies took the early lead in the opening set and were up 13-6. Tech maintained its advantage, but the Wolfpack chipped away at the lead and cut it to one at 19-18 off a block. The Hokies extended their lead and were up 24-19 as LaTasha Samson-Akpan served an ace. NC State scored once more but a Wolfpack error on the final rally gave the Hokies the point to take the set 25-20.

NC State got out to the lead in the second set and was up 10-4 before the Hokies went on a 10-4 run to tie it up at 14. The Wolfpack pulled back in front with a 6-1 run, going up 20-15, but Tech again responded to tie it up at 23. The two teams traded points and were still tied at 25, but a kill and an ace secured the points for the Pack to take the set 27-25, tying up the match 1-1.

In the third set, the Hokies came out strong, jumping out to the 15-8 lead just past the midway point. State was unable to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball as the Hokies rolled to the 25-14 win to go up 2-1 in the match.

The two teams were tied in the fourth set at 11 before the Hokies broke open the scoring with three straight to go on top 14-11 off a kill from McKinzie. NC State cut it down to two several times over the next rallies, but would get no closer as Tech extended their led to go up five at 20-15 off a Samson-Akpan solo block. The Wolfpack pulled within four at 23-19, but a kill from Battle followed by a State error secured the points for the Hokies to win 25-19 and take the match.

Rachel Buckley had 13 kills for the Wolfpack (12-3, 1-2 ACC) while Dariyan Hopper added 12. Maggie Sparks tallied 13 digs and Morgan Cormier had seven blocks for the defensive efforts.

Virginia Tech will be back on the court on Friday, Oct. 10 at Clemson in a 7 p.m. match. The Hokies will return to Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 12 to face in-state rival Virginia at 1 p.m.

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