Virginia Tech entered the 2010 NCAA Tournament as an unknown. Were they for real, or would NCAA Tournament regular Delaware dash the Hokies’ hopes? Tech answered with a dominating performance, earning a milestone win and a chance to play one of the most storied programs in college volleyball.
The Hokies came out firing in the first set with a kill from sophomore Cara Baarendse and an ace from junior Justine Record that put the Blue Hens on their heels early. Tech would stretch their first set lead to as many as 10 and ran away with the first set 25-17. Delaware responded in the second set, racing out to an early 5-1 lead, but the Hokies would go on a run of their own tying the match at 6. Down 15-17 midway through the set, Tech would win 7 of the next 8 points coming out of a timeout and hang on for a 25-23 win in set two.
The third set featured 7 early ties, but the Hokies took a 10-9 lead on a kill from Justine Record and never looked back. Tech would win set three 25-18 to earn the sweep in their first tournament match. Senior Felicia Willoughby hit a career high .786 with 11 kills on 14 attempts, while Baarendse and freshman Tori Hamsher tallied 12 and 10, respectively. The Hokies simply had too many weapons for Delaware to handle, as Tech hit a season-best .367 clip behind 38 assists from setter Erin Leaser.
With the win, Virginia Tech advances to the round of 32 and will play the 4th overall seed in the tournament, Penn State, for a spot in the Sweet 16. Don’t Let Penn State’s 5 losses this season fool you, the Nittany Lions are the three-time defending national champions and won a record 109 matches in a row during that period. There’s no denying that Penn State is one of the premier programs in the country, so do the Hokies have any chance of knocking the Lions off their mountain?
| Virginia Tech | Stat Leaders | Penn State | ||||
| National Rankings (as of 11/27) | ||||||
| Cara Baarendse | 23 | .380 | Hitting % | .430 | 5 | Arielle Wilson |
| Cara Baarendse | 184 | 3.26 | Kills | 4.11 | 25 | Blair Brown |
| Erin Leaser | 25 | 11.2 | Assists | 11.3 | 20 | Kristin Carpenter |
| Felicia Willoughby | 131 | 1.04 | Blocks | 1.31 | 21 | Fatima Balza |
Let’s put it this way: Anything can happen. Tech has some intangibles in their favor and the Hokies can counteract Penn State’s height with speed. Missouri (who Tech beat 3-1 in September) upset #5 UNI in the first round, so the Nittany Lions could be temped to look forward at a now seemingly easy path to the Final Four. The Hokies have nothing to lose and the world to gain, and that’s the type of team nobody wants to get in a fight with. It’s hard to pick against a team that has won 91 straight home matches, but I believe Tech punch Penn State harder than they expect, and if the Hokies can somehow force a fifth set, it’s anyone's game.
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