Hokies Sink Wildcats in Homecoming Match :: 'Nova looks to redeem themselves against Georgetown tomorrow afternoon.

Oct. 27, 2001

Villanova, Pa. --- On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Villanova volleyball team dropped a hard fought battle with the Virginia Tech Hokies in a match played at the Jake Nevin Field House in Villanova, Pa. The Wildcats' drop their fourth straight conference loss of the year as their overall record falls to 6-12. With the victory, the Hokies improve to 8-13 on the season and even their Big East record to 4-4.

With the score tied at 24 in the first set, a kill by Virginia Tech's Annie Spicer put the Hokies up for good as they rolled for six straight points and a game one victory. The Hokies took advantage of four Villanova attack errors in that stretch to secure the win.

Trailing 20-15 in game two, Villanova would rally behind the serve of senior Dana Jones (Mt. Kisco, N.Y./ Fox Lane) who began a 9-4 Wildcat run that tied the score at 24. The Hokies would then benefit from two Villanova attack errors and two kills from Hokie hitter Ana Lang giving Virginia Tech a commanding 2-0 advantage.

The third set was played tightly as the match saw four different lead changes early on in the last game. With the score tied at 10, the Hokies went on a 10-2 run capitalizing on four Wildcat errors and two kills each from Jenny Hill, Cherl Stinson and Spicer. Virginia Tech would go on to eventually close out the game and match, defeating the Wildcats 30-24, 30-28 and 30-22.

In the loss for the Wildcats, junior hitter Leah Mathews (Poway, Calif./ Our Lady of Peace) tallied 15 kills and seven digs on the evening. Freshman Jennifer Badran-Grycan (Santa Monica, Calif./ Palisades) directed the offense with 32 assists in addition to 10 defensive digs.

Virginia Tech was led by freshman sensation Annie Spicer who hit 20 of 36 for a .444 hitting percentage. Setter Kelli O'Dell tallied 43 assists and eight digs in the victory for the Hokies.

The Wildcats will look to redeem themselves tomorrow afternoon, Oct. 28, when they battle the Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East showdown. The match is set to begin at 2:00 P.M. at the Jake Nevin Field House.