After their tremendous 9-2 start to the season, the Miami Hurricanes volleyball team hit a snag in the road with back to back losses against the Florida State Seminoles. First, a 3-2 loss in Tallahassee on September 25th and then they got swept 3-0 in Coral Gables just four days later on September 29th.
Luckily for the ‘Canes, they got back into the swing of things after heading up to Blacksburg on Friday, October 5th to sweep the Virginia Tech Hokies, 3-0. The final scores of the match were: 25-22, 25-16, 25-18. In total, the ‘Canes tallied 47 kills, 46 digs, four service aces, and six blocks. The ‘Canes’ top players of the match were their usual two showstoppers, Junior Flormarie Heredia Colon with 16 kills, nine digs, and one ace, as well as Sophomore Grace Lopez with 14 kills, nine digs, and two blocks.
The first set was the closest of the eventual three, with the ‘Canes only winning by three points. The ‘Canes started out the set well with a 3-0 that featured a kill by Sophomore Ava Carney. The set got tight later when it was tied 8-all. Miami had good separation later, leading 20-14 after a kill by Junior Dalia Wilson. However, the Hockies went on a 6-2 run to bring them within two, 22-20. In the end, the ‘Canes took care of business, winning the set 25-22, after a kill by the 6-5 Redshirt Freshman Bianka Lulić.
The second set went very smoothly for Miami as they powered through the opening gates on a 16-5 run that featured an ace by Senior Yaidaliz Rosado to open the set. The Hokies were never really in the set, but they did go on a 6-0 run near the end of the set. The only unfortunate part for them was it made the score 23-15 instead of 23-9, so they still nowhere close to the Hurricanes. The ‘Canes finished things up soon after that, with a kill by Wilson to win the set 25-16.
The final set was not much better for the Hokies and started it off well leading 9-3 early off a kill by Redshirt Freshman Ariana Rodriguez. Virginia Tech never closed the gap throughout the set as the ‘Canes still led late with a 20-14 on a kill by Lulić. The set and match finished up not long after thanks to kills from Lulić, Heredia Colon, and Lopez to give the ‘Canes the 25-18 set win and the 3-0 match win to give the Hurricanes their first conference win this season and their tenth on the year.
With the win, the ‘Canes now sit at 10-4 (1-2) and the Hokies fall to a record of 6-7 (0-3). For their next opponent, the ‘Canes will not be heading too far as they stay in the state of Virginia to face the Virginia Cavaliers (12-2; 2-1) tomorrow, October 6th, at 1:00 pm in Charlottesville, Va.