Volleyball has no trouble with Hokies

It was a good Saturday for Hurricane athletics. Along with the football team getting back on the winning track, the women’s volleyball team ended their regular season on a winning note as they swept Virginia Tech 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-21).

The match was key in the positioning battle for the Big East Championship, as Miami held a one game lead over Virginia Tech in the Big East standings coming into the match.

The ‘Canes were never in trouble all night except for a late Hokies run in the second game to make the score look much closer than it actually was. Miami was led by senior Leyre Santaella Sante, who had 13 kills in her final match ever at the Knight Sports Complex.

“I think we were pretty steady tonight,” Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said. “We had a great offensive performance out of Leyre, Robin and Karla. We had three players who were on fire and when you have that many people putting up those kind of numbers, you are in a good position.”

In the second game, the Hurricanes reeled off five straight service points behind the serving of junior Elizabeth Tyson. The Hokies came back to tie the game at 14 before the ‘Canes took the lead for good behind red shirt freshman Francheska Savage’s shot into the center of the court.

After intermission, freshman Jill Robinson put to rest any of the Hokies’ dreams of a comeback victory with a kill to secure Miami’s spot in the Big East Tournament.

This is the second straight year UM will move on to the postseason. They will play as the No. 3 seed in the tournament behind Notre Dame and Pitt.

“We secured our spot,” Lantagne Welch said. “We will probably play Notre Dame or Pittsburgh. Both of those teams got us earlier this year and we will be coming in as an underdog and we are excited about being in that position.”

Notre Dame defeated the Hurricanes 3-0 on Nov. 9 in South Bend, while Pittsburgh won 3-1 in Coral Gables on Nov. 2.

The ‘Canes head to South Bend on Saturday for the opening round of the tournament, with their opponent being the loser of the Pittsburgh-Notre Dame match.