This Week in The Cassell – Hokies Seek Program Win #600 Against Rival UVA

Last Week:

     The Hokies completed their second consecutive tournament sweep last weekend, defeating Central Arkansas, host Western Kentucky, and Missouri.  After breezing through the Hokie Invitational last weekend, Tech faced some stiffer competition in host WKU and 27th ranked Mizzou.  Against Central Arkansas, sophomore Cara Baarendse continued her hot streak, tallying a career-high 19 kills and 10 digs to lead the Hokies past UCA 3-1.  Tech jumped out to a quick 2 set lead against Western Kentucky, but the host Hilltoppers battled back to tie the match after four.  The Hokies regained control in the fifth set, hitting .412, while holding WKU to a .040 hitting percentage to earn their first true road win of the season.  On Saturday, the Hokies took on #27 Mizzou, and produced one of their best offensive performances of the season in a 3-1 win.  Baarendse, Justine Record and Felicia Willoughby all had over 10 kills while hitting a combined .469 to propel the Hokies to a win.

Up next:

Hokies' National Rankings
Category	Actual	VT Rank	UVA Rank	TU Rank
Blocks Per Set	2.48	40th	23rd	193rd
Hitting %	.264	44th	69th	56th
Kills Per Set	13.79	45th	136th	167th

     This Friday Virginia Tech will attempt to earn the program’s 600th win against rival Virginia.  The Hoos raced to a 5-0 start to the season, but have dropped their past 4 matches.  The last three were 3-0 sweeps but all came at the hands of top 25 ranked opponents.  UVA was picked to finish 7th in the ACC, one spot ahead of the Hokies, and will be eager to right the ship on their home floor.  The Hokies are 4-4 against Virginia under Coach Chris Riley, where neither team has managed to win on the opponent’s court.  Saturday’s opponent will be Towson University, who also started the season on a hot streak (winning 10 straight) but have dropped their past 3 contests.  Both teams have faced top 25 competition recently and will present tough challenges for the Hokies.  Live stats should be available here.