BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Western Carolina volleyball team dropped its nonconference finale 3-0 at Virginia Tech on Friday evening as part of the Hokie Classic held inside Cassel Coliseum.
 
Virginia Tech improves to 7-4 while WCU drops to 7-5
 
Merry Gebel led the Catamounts with seven kills. Destinee Dorsey had a team-best 14 digs while Sarah Janourova distributed a team-leading 12 assists.
 
Cera Powell paced the Hokies with 10 kills. Maddie Slagle paced the Hokie defense with 20 digs with Hanna Borer and Brie Postema adding 20 and 13 assists, respectively.
 
The Hokies took an early 6-2 lead in the opening set, pulling away as the set went on for a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The Catamounts erased an early 6-4 second set deficit with a 5-1 run for a 9-7 advantage. Trailing 16-15, the Hokies went on a 4-1 spurt to grab the lead and fending off a late Catamount charge to secure the win.
 
Tied at five in the third set, the Hokies took three of the next four points and pulled away down the stretch to close out the match, denying WCU its third win over an ACC fo this season.
 
WCU opens both its Southern Conference and regular season home schedule next Friday, welcoming Samford to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center at 6 p.m.
 
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