In one of the most anticipated games of the season, Boston College Volleyball hosted the Virginia Tech Hokies in the annual Red Bandana Game honoring Welles Crowther on Friday afternoon.
“They played rogue, they played courageous, and we tried to embody him the best we could,” BC head coach Jason Kennedy said of how the Eagles’ played in the Red Bandana Game.
After three-straight losses, all to ACC opponents, the Eagles (9–12, 2–7 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped that skid in three sets with an assertive win over Virginia Tech. The Hokies (7–12, 1–8) entered the tilt having had a similar season, struggling in conference play and coming off two sweeps at the hands of North Carolina and Duke.
For most of the first set, the teams were deadlocked. Trading points, no team led by more than three until BC pulled away for six straight points, leaving the score at 19–13. This run was characterized by diving saves by Brooklyn Yeland, the libero.
BC kept this lead, extending it to 24–20 with a long rally that ended by a well-placed kill by Sam Hoppes. However, the Hokies started to make a comeback, eventually tying the set at 24–24.
The Hokies seemed to score another point by a misplaced BC shot by Julia Haggerty, but the Eagles challenged the call, overturning it, and shifting the momentum. BC made two blocks on the next point to win the set, 26–24.
“The emphasis has been on closing matches and finding a way,” Kennedy said. “To their credit, they got pushed late. We responded, and I thought that was pretty solid.”
The Eagles picked up where they left off in the second set and got off to a quick lead, 10–5. BC steadily built on this lead—the team seemed most dominant after another successful challenge.
A kill by Halle Schroder made the score 18–12, but similar to the first set, VT sparked something of a comeback.
Three straight kills by Jasmine Robinson closed the gap, making the score 19–16. While VT continued with this strategy, BC countered, and Haggerty made three blocks to make the score 23–16. The Eagles went on to win the set 25–17.
The third set was once again close, but the momentum appeared to shift when Schroder made an out-of-bounds backwards save and Yelland made a one-handed diving save on the same point, making it 8–8.
BC established a three-point lead when Haggerty logged a dominant kill, soaring high and spiking it loudly, making it 18–15.
A miscommunication by the Hokies shone light on what seemed to be a runaway third set, at 22–17. However, just like the first set, the Hokies made a comeback, this time tying the match at 23–23. Nevertheless, BC gathered itself and scored two straight points to take the set.
The Eagles look to build on this sweep for the rest of their ACC play according to Kennedy.
“To be able to get one win gives us a little bit of confidence, and hopefully we can parlay that into something on Sunday,” Kennedy said.
BC will host Virginia in the Halloween themed game this weekend.
