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The Corner: Hokies Sweep UVA in Volleyball to Lead a Jam-Packed Homecoming Weekend

News, Notes, and Events Round Up For Women’s Sports

Michael Turner·October 22, 2026

The Corner: Hokies Sweep UVA in Volleyball to Lead a Jam-Packed Homecoming Weekend

The Corner is the premier home to follow the world of Virginia Tech women’s sports.Indeed, there were a significant number of home and away events on Virginia Tech’s October 16-18 homecoming weekend.

Over the past week, Virginia Tech volleyball swept UVA, while soccer lost a heartbreaker against the Cavaliers. Women’s golf, tennis, and cross country continued to excel. Softball and lacrosse continued their fall ball series whereas women’s basketball played an exhibition game as it prepares for its season-opening game on November 3.

Meanwhile, a number of club sports were in action, including the Equestrian Hunter Team, cross country, rugby, and several others. We are building a community for both varsity and club sports, so please share any news, updates, or information that can be included in The Corner!

VIRGINIA TECH VOLLEYBALL AND FRANCES TORRES DOMINATE UVA IN SECOND GAME OF BACK-TO-BACKS

The Virginia Tech and UVA volleyball teams played a two game home-and-home series on Wednesday, October 15 and Friday, October 17 as part of the Commonwealth Clash.

The Hokies fell to the Cavaliers in the first match in Charlottesville, 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23).

The first two sets saw tight frames early, with Virginia Tech even leading 10-9 in the first set before UVA used runs to pull away in both. Virginia Tech hitters did not play poorly; in fact, Tech’s hitting percentages were .270 in the first set and .240 in the first set. UVA was just cleaner in the attack, with percentages of .340 and. 375 in those two sets.

Virginia Tech changed the momentum in the third set. While its hitting percentage was a paltry .074, UVA’s efficiency also dropped to a .156. Camilla Brandalise delivered several aces and, with the set close late, Destiny Walker and Frances Torres punched kills to claim the third set for Virginia Tech, 25-22.

Video from this post on X — October 15, 2026 · View on X

The Hokies carried that momentum into the fourth set, even carving out a 10-6 lead before the Cavaliers rallied to tie it.UVA pulled ahead and, despite a late rally by Virginia Tech, put the set and match away. The Hokies fell to 4-12 overall and 1-6 in the ACC.

Match Notes:

Destiny Walker led the Hokies with 16 kills, hitting .345 for the match.
Frances Torres was the second Hokie with double digit kills, hitting a season-best 11, and contributed 9 digs.
Reese Hazelton contributed 9 kills and 10 digs.
Camilla Brandalise dished out a team high 31 assists while serving up three aces.
Courtney Burgess, who has been carving out a bigger role recently, provided 8 assists and an ace of her own.
Ivy Cooper led the team with 12 digs.
Isabella Mishler led the Hokies with 5 blocks. Layla Moore (3), Camilla Brandalise (2), Adeline Hundl (2), and Reese Hazelton (2) also got in on the block party.

The France Torres Show Helps Virginia Tech Sweep the Cavaliers, 25-18, 25-11, 25-21, in Return March

After Virginia Tech fell to UVA in 4 sets on Wednesday, the return match on Friday in Blacksburg was far more exhilarating!

The Hokies and Cavaliers battled pretty evenly for the early part of the first set. Virginia Tech jumped out to 2-0 behind a kill from Destiny Walker and a nice tip over by Frances Torres. However, errors allowed UVA to tie the score. A nice Reese Hazelton serve, for example, was returned by UVA over the net, but it was hard to judge and fell just over onto the Tech side. On the following play, poor timing between setter Camilla Brandallise and a hitter resulted in a missed hit. This pattern seemed to be the theme for the set. A kill by Reese Hazelton was followed by a long service error. A nasty kill by Destiny Walker was followed by a serve into the net.

A series of poor sets and errors allowed UVA to build a 9-6 lead until Virginia Tech responded with its own run, capped by a resounding block from the combination of Hazelton and Layla Moore. The rejection seemed to ignite the Hokies as they grew stronger while the Cavaliers floundered.

A dynamic kill by Walker from the back row and a hit by Hazelton gave the Hokies a 11-10 lead and forced a timeout by Virginia. Three more errors by Virginia, along with an ace by Hazelton and another block by Torres and Moore allowed Tech to widen its advantage to 17-11.

The Cavaliers put together their own run to close within three at 18-15, causing Tech to call a timeout. Virginia could not sustain its momentum, again suffering from three straight hitting errors to make it 21-15. A kill by Hazelton and two by Torres crushed any Cavalier hopes of a comeback and gave the Hokies the 25-18 win.

Virginia Tech was not especially efficient on offense in the first set. Brandalise had 8 assists on 12 hits, but the Hokies moved on defense, receiving well and recording 19 digs. UVA was also bad, hitting -.095, with more errors (10) than hits (6).

The Hokies gained confidence from its opening set win. Kills by Camilla Brandalise, Destiny Walker, and France Torres helped Virginia Tech maintain a 5-4 lead to start the second set. However, that is the closest the Cavaliers would get as kills by Reese Hazelton and Torres extended Tech’s lead to 10-6.

Virginia Tech’s Camilla Brandalise orchestrated a well-balanced offense with five different hitters notching kills for a .444 hitting percentage. Isabella Mishler delivered three kills while Destiny Walker and Frances Torres had four apiece. Meanwhile, the UVA offense and defense were AWOL, with the hitters limited to seven kills and the defense only managing 5 digs against the Hokie onslaught. Service aces from Brandalise and Ivy Cooper poured more salt in the wounds of the Cavaliers as Tech cruised to a dominant 25-11 second set win.

While the match was a total team effort, the third set was literally the “The Frances Torres Show” as the senior made play after play to help sweep the match for the Hokies.

With UVA holding a 14-13 point lead and seeking to shift momentum, Virginia Tech honed in and started to put the set and match away.A powerful block by Torres and Layla Moore pulled the Hokies into a 14-14 tie. A hit out by Virginia allowed the Hokies to reach 15 points first. Torres continued the momentum for Tech with a kill and then another resounding block to force the Cavaliers to call timeout, down by three.

Even after UVA pulled back one point, Torres delivered another kill to make it 18-15. Walker then went down the line to give the Hokies a 19-16 lead and force yet another Cavalier timeout. A net call on UVA and another score by Torres extended Virginia Tech’s lead to 21-16.

UVA made a run to close the gap to 21-18; however. Torres lifted the ball over from the middle, finding empty space for the 22-18 score. Virginia rallied again with three straight points to trail by just one at 22-21 and force a Virginia Tech timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Brandalise set to Torres, who delivered a vicious kill from the back row to stop UVA’s momentum and make it 23-21. Brandalise followed with an ace, and then UVA hit the final point long to give Virginia Tech the 25-11 win and a sweep on its home court.

The Hokie 3-0 win (25-18, 25-11, 25-21) marks Virginia Tech’s first win over UVA since the 2021 season. It also gives Virginia Tech a 5-12 overall record and 2-6 mark in the ACC.

Match Notes:

While many contributors helped Virginia Tech win, France Torres was the star of the match. She hit .434 and led the Hokies with 13 kills.
Destiny Walker added 10 kills, hitting .304, and eight digs.
Isabella Mishler hit an astounding. 800, delivering 8 kills in 10 attempts.
Reese Hazelton flirted with a double-double as she recorded 8 kills and 10 digs.
Camilla Brandalise led Virginia Tech with 27 assists and recorded 7 digs.
Ivy Cooper symbolized the Hokie effort on defense as she led the Tech with 11 digs.
Virginia Tech hit a blistering .444 in the second set while holding UVA to an overall -.018 hitting percentage.

Up Next: Virginia Tech travels to Chestnut Hill to meet Boston College at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, October 23 and then faces Syracuse on Sunday, October 25 at 1:00 pm. Both matches will be streamed live on ACCNX. Boston College (1-7 in the ACC) and Syracuse (0-8) are two of the worst teams in the ACC, so there is an opportunity for Virginia Tech to make inroads in the ACC standings.

VIRGINIA TECH WOMEN’S SOCCER LOSES, 1-0, IN FINAL MINUTES AGAINST #18 UVA

In another match up of in-state rivals, Virginia Tech women’s soccer welcomed 18th ranked UVA to Thompson Field in Blacksburg on Thursday, October 16.

Both teams worked through a back-and-forth first half with each having quality chances that just missed. The Cavaliers patiently moved the ball on their offensive end, and it almost paid off when star Virginia midfielder Addison Halperin sent a rocket toward goal that hit the crossbar.

Virginia Tech had several of its own almost moments. In the 14th minute, Eliana Salama dribbled between multiple defenders, but her shot went just wide. Near the end of the first half, the Hokies had a free kick from the left side. The ball was sent in to Riley Karpinski on the right side of the box. Her strike toward goal hit the right side of the wood and deflected away.

With neither team able to find a breakthrough, they went into half with the score 0-0. Despite UVA’s patient approach, Virginia Tech actually outpossessed the Cavaliers 54% to 46%. Virginia Tech also had more shots than UVA, with an 8-4 shot advantage. However, the Cavaliers had 2 shots on goal to Virginia Tech’s 1.

The Hokies came out on the attack to start the second half. Anna Weir got the ball on the right wing and sent a cross to the left side that Bella Ganiere gathered. Her shot attempt on goal was deflected out for the first corner kick of the night .45 seconds into the half.

The corner kick bounced around in the box, but, right as the ball settled at the feet of a Hokie player, UVA keeper Victoria Safradin sat on the ball to preserve the scoreless tie.

Both teams had turns counter-attacking, and it felt someone was going to eventually score the winning goal. Tech had another chance,at the 40 minute mark when Hannah Pachan sent a ball into Weir, who tried poking it past the goalkeeper, but the strike went awry. Two minutes later, UVA’s Sophia Bradley had a chance that she sent high.

Virginia Tech had perhaps its best opportunity of the half when Salama stole a pass and worked with Weir to advance toward Virginia's goal. After Salama gave the ball up to Weir, Weir dropped a pass back to a wide open Salama in the box on her left. Only a diving save by the keeper prevented Salama from sneaking the ball into the net.

At the 34-minute mark, Salama tried to carry the ball deep into the UVA side of midfield. She had numbers, but Virginia was able to poke the ball away and gain possession.

At the 18-minute mark, Virginia drew a foul from behind, just outside the box, but the free kick bounced right to Tech goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo.

The Cavaliers were forcing the Hokies to defend a lot. Tech’s defense looked to either clear over the top or build out, but both approaches led at times to turnovers that allowed Virginia to maintain pressure.

The action began to pick up even more in the final thirteen minutes with Tech trying to take advantage of multiple opportunities. Lili Lubic stole the ball and sent a pass that allowed Salama to move into the box. Her shot toward the net was deflected right back to Hannah Pachan whose kick sailed high over the goal.

Three minutes later, the Hokies had another opportunity down the right side when a cross deflected by the keeper over the net gave Tech another corner. The corner was deflected, but Peyton May was called for a foul as the Cavaliers attempted to clear the loose ball.

With seven minutes left in the game, a Tech free kick after a Virginia foul found a crowd in front of the net, but the ball bounced away for a UVA counter-attack. However, UVA’s Giovana Canali played the ball a bit too long in front of her, allowing Tech’s Elle Robertson to steal and pass ahead that led to a long ball to Weir on the opposite side. Weir made a move along the end line, but Virginia defender Mackenzie Mize slid to deflect the ball out for Tech’s fourth corner kick. Pachan delivered the corner outside the box to Salama, who attacked from her left. Her shot, however, was deflected out for another corner that failed to produce a score.

With the match nearing the final stretch, Virginia Tech had the ball, but a touch too long allowed UVA to steal the ball. No defender stepped up to prevent a pass to Virginia’s Ella Carter running behind the defense. Tech’s Elle Robertson recovered to drive Carter toward the end line. However, at the last second, Carter sent a pass into the middle where Sophia Bradley slipped in between multiple Hokie defenders. Tech’s Bella Ganiere tried to cut Bradley off, but Bradley put the ball past a scrambling Trujillo for the 1-0 breakthrough.

The Cavaliers possessed the ball for much of the final minutes and defused a final Hokie threat with seconds remaining to secure the win

After working so hard all match to generate opportunities and defuse numerous Cavalier threats, losing in the final minutes can be heartbreaking. The Hokies have been close to pulling out wins in their last two games, but they have faced similar dynamics: turnovers, losing possession at key times that put the defense under stress, and generating shots without producing points. Virginia and Virginia Tech were even on shots, but the final third proved elusive for the Hokies.

Next Up: The Hokies, now 6-6-4 overall and 2-3-1 on the ACC face No. 4 Wake Forest this coming Thursday, October 22. The match is at 7:00 and will be streamed on ACCNX. The 4-2-1 Demon Deacons (11-2-1 overall) sit in third place in the ACC standings behind Notre Dame and second-ranked North Carolina, who Wake just defeated 3-1. Virginia Tech’s defense will work to control Sierra Sythe, who is tied with Anna Weir with seven goals on the season but also has five game-winning goals. The Hokies then welcome Clemson to Blacksburg on Sunday, October 25.

WOMEN’S GOLF ROARS BACK TO FINISH SECOND AT THE RUTH’S CHRIS TARHEEL INVITATION. VAL DELON AND EMILY MATTHEWS FINISH IN THE TOP 10

The 33rd-ranked Virginia Tech women’s golf team traveled to Chapel Hill over the weekend to compete in the Ruth’s Chris Tarheel Invitational. The star-studded tournament held at Finley Golf Club featured thirteen teams, including 9 other ranked programs. No. 1 ranked Wake Forest headlined the field, followed by Miami (7th), Rollins (8th), Florida (9th), Duke (10th), and Princeton (15th).

In addition, Princeton’s No. 1 ranked Thanana Kotchasanmanee and Wake’s No. 2 ranked Chloe Kovelesky presented a formidable challenge.

Senior Val Delon finished the first round on Friday, October 16, in 2nd place with a -4 under performance on the par 71 course. Emily Matthew was equally impressive with a 3 under 68 to put her in a tie for 5th place. Xin Yao Wang and Savannah Dupre came in with 1 over scores that left both tied 28th place. The fifth member of the team, Emerson Dever finished the day with a 10 over 81 that left her in 74th place.

The second day was not as productive for the Hokies as they produced a 14 over round two. Delon maintained her spot in second place with a -1 under 70, and Matthews held onto a top ten spot at 6th. Unfortunately, Wang and Dupre both dropped on the leader board with 5 over and 6 over rounds..

On the back of its overall strong performances, Virginia Tech sat in 4th place as a team after day two, behind Duke, NC State, and Boston College, but ahead of Wake Forest. However, the Hokies came roaring back on day three!

Val Delon shot a five under 66 in the third round to finish in first place with an overall 10 under tournament. She fired a tournament leading 17 birdies to edge out Duke’s Rianne Malixi by two strokes.
Emily Matthews recovered with par 71 in the third round to finish in a tie for 7th place. She made 9 birdies and tied the field for sixth with 28 pars, showing the consistency that delivered a top 10 finish.

Xin Yao Wang and Savannah Dupre both shot in the red, going under par to finish tied for 18th and 30th place, respectively. They both also notched 6 birdies. Emerson Dever completed the day with her best round of the tournament with a 9 over par.

The fivesome’s impressive round contributed to Virginia Tech having the best round of the tournament at -8 (276 total) and vaulted the Hokies into second place against that field of top-ranked teams.

10th-ranked Duke finished in first as a team, 12 points clear of Virginia Tech. Meanwhile, top-ranked Wake Forest finished in fourth place.

Up Next: Ranked #23 now, Virginia Tech finishes its fall season at the Keswick Invitational hosted by UVA in Keswick, Virginia on Monday, October 26. After the one-day, 36-hole event, the Hokies will resume work in January 2027 when it travels to Guadalajara, Mexico for the one-day Collegiate Invitational to kick off the 2027 season.

VIRGINIA TECH WOMEN’S TENNIS COMPETE AT THE ATLANTIC ITA REGIONALS AT LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

The Virginia Tech Women’s Tennis program was back in action this past weekend at the ITA Regional Championships hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Nine Hokies participated in the Singles Draw whereas four teams competed in the Doubles Draw, with several players having standout performances.

Qualifying Rounds

The Qualifying Rounds began on Thursday, October 15 with six Hokies competing in a set of preliminary matches to earn one of the limited spots in the Main Draw. After losing the first set 6-4 against Liberty’s Diana Illie, Mary Sidelnyk came back to win the second set 6-1, but fell in the third set, 1-6. Laima Frosch also lost her Round of 64 match against JMU’s Brooklyn Hoofman, 4-6, 4-6.

Linda Ziets Segura won her hard-fought Round of 64 qualifying match against Tilda Larsson of William & Mary, 7-5, 6-4 and moved onto the Round of 32, where she lost to Madeline Kroupestski from Richmond, 0-6, 4-6.

Sirena Waas took down VCU’s Sofia Jane Thorne 6-4, 6-1, allowing her to advance to the Round of 32, where she lost to Laura Damm of GWU, 1-6, 4-6.

Lamija Avdic took out Morgan State’s Tyler Williams, 6-1, 6-2 before falling to Liberty’s Aranai Martinez in a back-and-forth set, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Alston Myatt wrapped up Qualifying play by making a run to the Round of 16. She defeated Maya Baya of George Mason, 6-4, 6-2 and then downed Sarah Copley of Marshall in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. On the basis of her two wins on Thursday, October 15, Myatt earned a spot in the Main Draw.

Main Draw

Three Hokies started in the Main Draw on Friday, October 16, with Alston Myatt earning her spot to make it four players. Unfortunately, Myatt fell in two sets to William & Mary’s Francesca Davis, 1-6, 6-7. She did go into the Consolation bracket, but lost to Richmond’s Sofia Maria Barbulescu in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.

Madeleine Rexroat also lost in the Round of 64 in three sets to JMU’s Ariel Avidan after starting strong, 6-4, 1-6, 0-6. She then moved into the Consolation bracket and defeated Towson’s Keirsten Tambe, 2-6, 6-2, with the second set going to a 10-point tie breaker.

9th seeded Blair Gill and 9th seeded Elizaveta Castillo both won their first matches. Gill defeated Maryland’s Mila Mulready, 6-4, 6-3 and then bested VCU’s Mariam Ibrahim Mohamed Metwally by an identical 6-4, 6-3 score. Unfortunately, she lost to the no. 1 seed Vivian Yang from UVA, 2-6, 2-6.

Castillo took down Solange Skeene of GWU, 6-1, 6-3 in the Round of 64 and then defeated Milan Tsulygina of Liberty, 6-3, 6-2, in the Round of 32. Unfortunately, Castillo lost to UVA’s 2-seed Katie Rolls, 2-6, 0-6, in the Round of 16.

Doubles Competition

Four Virginia Tech pairs played in the Open Doubles competition. The team of Madeleine Rexroat and Linda Ziets-Segura lost their first match whereas the partners Lamija Avdic and Sirena Waas won their first match before falling in the second round.

The 9th seeded pair of Elizaveta Castillo and Alston Myatt did well at the regional, winning their first two matches against doubles teams from VCU and Maryland before falling to the 6-seeded duo of Ulyana Romanova and Uladzislava of ODU.

The highlight for the Hokies was the run made by 9th seed Blair Gill and Mary Sidelnyk. The pair dominated teams from Delaware State, Richmond, and Longwood in matches through Sunday and earned the opportunity to advance to play on Monday, October 19.

Up Next: The women’s tennis team will next travel to Sumter, South Carolina to compete in the W15 ITF Sumter Tournament from October 24 through November 1.

SOFTBALL GOES DEEP IN FALL BALL GAME AGAINST RADFORD

The Virginia Tech softball team welcomed the Radford Highlanders for a fall ball game on Friday, October 16 at 5:00. The exhibition game was part of the off-season training program that allows both players and coaches to work on their games.

The starting lineup included Emma Mazzarone in right field, Addison Foster in center field, Jordan Lynch at 3B, Gabby MIzelle at 2B, Michelle Chatfield at 1B, Nora Abromavage in left field, transfer Emma Kavanaugh at catcher, freshman Teagan Tripp at DP/right field, and Annika Rohs at shortstop.

Sophomore pitcher Avery Layton got the start and gave up a soft leadoff single to the outfield and a walk in the first, but struck out two looking to get out of the inning.

In the Virginia Tech half of the inning, Mazzarone got on base and then Foster drove a long ball over the left field fence to score 2 runs. Gabby Mizelle singled two batters later and was driven in by a triple from Michelle Chatfield that made it 3-0. With one out, freshman Teagan Tripp singled in Chatfield from third to give the Hokies a 4-0 lead. Aniika Rohs capped off the scoring in the first inning with a three run homerun to make it 7-0!

In the second inning. Layton gave up a lead off double but set down three hitters in a row to end the threat. Overall, she pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits and one walk, while striking out three.

After Jordan Lynch hit a two-run home run to the right field that scored Foster, the score was reset to zero. Brie Carrico then came on to pitch and delivered two perfect innings, giving up no hits, no walks, and no runs.

Meanwhile the home run barrage continued for the Hokies. Foster hit a home run and then Nora Abromavage hit a 3-run home run straight away to center field.

Mazzarone entered the game in the 5th inning and pitched three innings, striking out six while up one hit and two walks. She did give up two unearned runs, but no earned runs.

Annika Rohs and Addison Foster both hit three home runs. Nora Abromavage, Jordan Lynch, and Jordan Bishop each also contributed a home run. Michelle Chatfield had a double and a triple that brought in three runs. Gabby Mizelle and Emma Mazzarone also got on base multiple times that helped the Hokies generate more offense.

The game was also an opportunity for other players to get reps. For example, Haley Luginbill played some at first, Lily Palante got time at second, while freshmen Tegan Tripp played third and Ryleigh Perks played short stop. In addition, freshman Grace Swedarsky pitched two scoreless innings and gave up no hits, runs, or walks.

Up Next: The Hokies travel to Fairfax, Virginia to play George Mason University on Saturday, October 24 at 12:00. The program will go down the road to play Radford again in Radford, Virginia on Friday, October 30 and then hold an intrasquad scrimmages on Friday, November 6. Both games will be at 5:00 pm.

VIRGINIA TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS TO MARYLAND IN EXHIBITION GAME

Virginia Tech women’s basketball lost an exhibition game, 93-82, against the University of Maryland in College Park, MD on Monday, October 19. Maryland finished last season with a 24-9 overall record and 11-7 conference record to finish sixth in the Big 10. The Terrapins earned a bid to the NCAA March tournament last spring as a 5-seed before losing in the second round to No. 4 North Carolina. The game was televised on the Big 10 Network.

Transfers Alyssa Latham and Lauren Hurst did not play for the Hokies. Hurst was on the bench in sweats whereas Latham was not at the game.

Virginia Tech rolled out a starting lineup of Carleigh Wenzel, Samyha Suffren, Leila Wells, Aniya Trent, and newcomer Jessica Dimaro.

Maryland opened the game strong before Virginia Tech’s Leila Wells and Kaleo Anderson hit back-to-back three pointers as part of a run that gave the Hokies the lead. The Terrapins came back to finish the first quarter with a one point lead at 19-18, with Oluchi Okananwa scored 11 of Maryland’s 19 points.

Virginia Tech fell further behind to start the second quarter after giving up a 9-0 run, which included turning the ball over on an inbounds pass that led to an one-on-one for Maryland. Turnovers were a theme for the Hokies, committing 10 in the first half that helped Maryland build a 38-26 lead

However, Virginia Tech fought back with contributions from across the roster. Samyha Suffren and Francesca Baldassarre both hit three pointers, Amani Jenkins and Wells hit four free throws between them, and Carleigh Wenzel hit a shot to help Tech finish the half only down 43-39.

Maryland opened the second half with a three pointer that helped the Terrapins to widen the gap and close the third quarter leading 67-58. Maryland went up by 12 for its biggest lead before Virginia Tech pulled within six points with over 2 minutes left to play. Maryland weathered the Hokie run to push the margin back to eleven for the 93-82 win.

Game Scoring Notes:

Samyha Suffren was Tech’s high scorer with 17 points and led the team with 5 assists.
Leila Wells scored 13 points, with 9 of her points coming off three pointers.
Freshman Kaleo Anderson scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Sophomore Kate Sears, returning after redshirting due to injury last season, hit 7 of 11 shots for 15 points.
Carleigh Wenzel added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Jessica Dimaro, who struggled at times with her shooting around the basket, finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hokies bench contributed 29 points.

Virginia Tech committed 18 turnovers overall, including 10 in the first half when Maryland put on its press.

Despite foul trouble to Dimaro and Aniya Trent in the first half, the Hokies hurt the Terrapins in the paint. Tech out-rebounded Maryland 27-19 in the first half, and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and scored 40 points in the lane over the course of the game.

Overall, the Hokies shot 43.8 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from three, and 61.1 percent from the free throw line.

Watch the full Youtube video below.

Up Next: The women’s basketball program opens its regular season at home on Monday, November 2 against North Carolina Central. The 6:00 pm game will be streamed on the ACCNX network.

Look for the season preview of the upcoming season next week!

VIRGINIA TECH CROSS COUNTRY WOMEN SWEEP THE FIELD AT THE PANORAMA INVITATIONAL

The Virginia Tech Women’s Cross Country team closed out its regular season with an impressive showing at the Panorama Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia in Earleysville, VA on Friday, October 16.

The women took 5 of the top 6 finishes and 6 of the top 10 at the 6K event. Brenda Jeptoo finished in second place with a collegiate best time of 20:27.0.

Behind Jeptoo came four straight Virginia Tech runners: Anya Mosely (3rd), Emma Lindner (4th), Lila Waters (5th), and Joan Chepkorir (6th). With Sophia Hadalgo taking 10th place, the Hokies had six of the top ten runners.

Sophia Chepchirchir (14th), Kenza Elakari (17th), and Elizabeth Coe (22nd) finished in the top 22, with Sofi Alexander coming in at 28th, Kasey Dingman 33rd, Lydia Mikhin 39th, Lia Pugsley in 41st, and Jeorgiana Gavalas in 47th. Overall, Virginia Tech had 14 runners in the top 47 - out of 170 participating runners. It is also noteworthy that all fourteen runners had times within 2 minutes of the lead runner.

Virginia Tech won the event with a team total of 20 points, 16 points clear of host Virginia, who came in second place. With the Hokies having such a great fall season, the Cross Country Coaches Association ranked the Virginia Tech program 20th in the country.

Up Next: With the end to its regular season, Virginia Tech will host the 2026 ACC Cross Country Championship at the Bluford Meredith Cross Country Course on Friday, October 30. The 6K event will start at 11:00 am.

VIRGINIA TECH WOMEN’S LACROSSE PLAYS FALL BALL GAMES AGAINST ODU AND RICHMOND

The women’s lacrosse team traveled to Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, October 17 to play fall games against ODU at 12:00 pm and the University of Richmond at 2:00 pm. Right now, there isn’t much information as to how the games, so stay tuned for updates.

WHAT’S ON TAP - UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Women's Soccer: Next event is on Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 against the No. 2 ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Hokies then play Sunday, October 25 in Blacksburg against Clemson. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX.

Women’s Swimming and Diving - Next event is on Friday, October 23 at 9:30 am at Queens (NC) in Charlotte, NC.

Volleyball - Next event is on Friday, October 23 at 7:00 against Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MD. The volleyball team will then face Syracuse on Sunday, October 25 at 1:00 pm. Both matches will be streamed live on ACCNX.

Softball - Next event is fall ball game in Fairfax, Virginia against George Mason University on Saturday, October 24 at 12:00 pm

Women's Lacrosse: Next event is in College Park, MD on October 24 at 1:25 and 2:30 against the University of Maryland and UVA.

Women's Tennis: Next event is the S15 ITF Sumter Tournament from October 24 through November 1 in Sumter, SC.

Women's Golf: Next event for 23rd ranked Virginia Tech is the Keswick Invitational hosted by UVA in Keswick, Virginia on Monday, October 26.

Women's Cross Country - Next even is the ACC Championships on Friday, October 30 in Blacksburg, VA.

Women’s Basketball - Next event is the season opening game in Blacksburg on Monday, November 2 at 5:00 pm against NC Central.

THE CLUB CORNER

Come to the Club Corner to discuss the events and achievements of the many women’s club sports at Virginia Tech. As usual, please share any all news, updates, and information about women’s teams in the comments or via email!

VIRGINIA TECH RUGBY LOSES TO UVA

The Virginia Tech women’s rugby team faced the nationally ranked Virginia Cavaliers in league play on Friday, October 16. Unfortunately, the nationally ranked Cavaliers defeated the Hokies 85-0.

Up Next: The women’s rugby team will travel to Washington, D.C. to play the Howard Bison on Saturday, October 24. The game time is listed as TBD for now.

VIRGINIA TECH EQUESTRIAN HUNTER TEAM FINISHES SECOND AT THE BLUE AND WHITE IHS EVENT

Virginia Tech’s Hunter team competed in the Blue and White IHS hosted by Washington & Lee University on Saturday, October 27. The 10-team event was held at the Mane Gait Equestrian Center in Natural Bridge, Virginia.

The Hokies finished in second place as the Reserve High Point team with 33 points, behind the University of Lynchburg, who secured the team title with 44 points.

The following riders earned points for the Hunter Team:

Anna Szefc - FInished in 4th place in Open Flat and 5th place in Open Fences to win 3 points in each event

Claudia Smith - Came in first place in Limit Flat to earn 7 points and finished in 4th place in Intermediate Fences to win another 3 points.

Jordan Atwell-Purcell - Came in 2nd place in Limit Fences to win 5 points.

Ella Tempas - Came in 4th place in Intermediate Flat to win 3 points.

Kendall Watts - Came in first place in Novice A to win 7 points.

Neveah Turner - Finished in second place in Intro to win 5 points.

After five IHSA events, Virginia Tech sits in second place in the region, with 185 total points, just two points behind leader Lynchburg.

Check out this video of the Equestrian Program after the Dressage team won the 2026 championship.

Up Next: The Hunter Team’s next IHSA competition will be the University of Lynchburg IHSA in Rustberg, VA on Sunday, November 8.

The IDA Equestrian Dressage Team will compete at Emory and Henry on October 31 through November 1.

The Western Team will stay in Blacksburg for an event from November 7-8.

VIRGINIA TECH WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY CLUB FINISHES IN SECOND PLACE AT THE NIRCA REGIONALS. FITZPATRICK AND LADSTAETTER FINISH IN TOP 10

The Virginia Tech Cross Club women’s club team finished in second place in the NIRCA Regionals on October 17 at Panorama farms in Earlysville, VA. The Hokies scored 54 points, 18 behind first place Penn State. .

Twenty Hokie runners competed in the 6K race, with Audrey Fitzpatrick finishing in second place with a time of 22:31.0 and Alex Ladstaetter coming in sixth place with a time of 23:18.4.

Mary Mansfield (14th place, 23:47.9), Maria Reid (15th, 23:50.3), and Ashley Mortensen (18th, 24.05.6) gave Virginia Tech three more top 20 finishers for a total of five runners among the top 20 who earned points - tied with Penn State.

Kate Malanowski (38th), Gabrielle DeJoseph (45th), and Lily Cannuli (49th) rounded out the Hokies in the top 50, with runners from 18 schools represented.

Up Next: The women's cross country team will compete at the NIRCA Nationalls at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelby, Indiana on November 7.

VIRGINIA TECH SOFTBALL CLUB QUALIFIES FOR REGIONALS!!

The Virginia Tech Softball club has officially qualifield for the 2026 NIRSA Region 2 Championships. The tournament will be held from October 30 through November 1 in Foley, Alabama. The Hokies will compete to earn a bid to the national tournament.

Region 2 consists of Virginia Tech, Auburn University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Orange, Coastal Carolina, Clemson University, the University of Tenessee-Knoxville-White, UNC-White, UVA, and Wake Forest seeded in that order.

Stay tuned for more information. The games can be watched online at Ballertv.com with a $35 purchase.

VIRGINIA TECH SWIM CLUB WOMEN COME IN SECOND AT NC STATE PAJAMA MEET

The Virginia Tech Swim Club competed in the Pajama Charity Meet hosted by NC State in Raleigh, NC. The event collected pajamas to donate to the UNC Children's Hospital. The Hokie women came in second to the host team, accumulating 4215 points that put them far ahead of competing teams like UNC-Wilmington, East Carolina. Wake Forest, Clemson, Duke, and Coastal Carolina.

Olivia Spooner finished 1st in the 50 freestyle and rd in the 100 free style. She also qualified for nationals in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 backstroke.

Mackenzie Spellman became a national qualifier in the 50 Backstroke.

WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY DEFEATS NC STATE AND HIGH POINT IN CONSECUTIVE WEEKENDS

The Virginia Tech Women's Hockey team hosted NC State on Sunday, October 17. Check out the team's Instagram site for a video presentation of the win over NC State. The Hokies then traveled to Greenboro on Sunday, October 18 to play High Point for a 11:30 game at the Greensboro Ice House. Virginia Tech won 8-4 and, per the team's Instagram page, goalie Solivia Plunkett had over 70 saves!

Next Up: Virginia Tech travels to Raleigh, NC to play NC State on Saturday, October 24.

WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY TAKES DOWN UNC-CHARLOTTE AND EAST CAROLINA

The Virginia Tech Women's Field Hockey team played two NFHL games on Sunday, October 18. defeating the UNC-Charlotte, 2-1 and East Carolna, 2-0. Looking back at previous games in the season, the Hokies won 2-0 against Pittsburgh and 7-0 against South Carolina on October 4.

Virginia Tech is 6-1 for the fall season, with 25 goals scored while only giving up 2 goals. Its only loss so far is a 1-0 setback to undefeated UVA squad.

UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS

There are a huge number of club sports games coming up this coming weekend and looking into November!

Women's Rugby - The Women’s Rugby team will travel to Washington, D.C. to play the Howard Bison on Saturday, October 24. The game time is listed as TBD for now.

Women's Water Polo - The Women's Water Polo team visits Charlottesville, VA to play in the Wahoo Classic on Saturday, October 24. The Hokies play JMU at 10:30 am, UVA at 2:00 pm, and Geogetown at 6:50 pm. Tech then faces the Queen City Sharks Sunday, October 25 at 9:40 am.

Women's Basketball - The Women's Basketball team will play in a tournament at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tournament from Saturday through Sunday, October 24-25. VT Maroon plays Tennessee at 11:00 am and UNC Charlotte at 1:00. VT Orange plays JMU at 12:00 and Ohio State at 2:00. All games are on Court 1 at the Health and Physical Education Building.

Women's Tennis - The Women's Tennis team will play at Tennessee-Knoxville also Saturday-Sunday, October 24-25.

Women's Lacrosse - The Women's Lacrosse club will host a tournament in Blacksburg on Saturday and Sunday, October 24-25, Game times are Saturday, 9:00 am against West Virginia and 11:00 am against UNC-Wilmington and then Sunday, 9:00 am against Loyola. Games will be played on SC Turf 1 and 2.

Women's Golf - The Women's Golf club will play in the Regional Tournament 3 on Saturday and Sunday, October 24-25 at the Hanging Rock Golf Club in Salem, VA. The tournament starts at 11:00 am both days.

Women's Ice Hockey - The Virginia Tech Women's Hockey team plays at NC State in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, October 24.

Women's Field Hockey - The Women's Field Hockey club team will travel to George Mason on Sunday, October 25 to play games against VCU and GMU.

Equestrian Team:

The Hunter Team’s next IHSA competition will be the University of Lynchburg IHSA in Rustberg, VA on Sunday, November 8.

The IDA Equestrian Dressage Team will compete at Emory and Henry on October 31 through November 1.

The Western Team will stay in Blacksburg for an event from November 7-8.

Women’s Club Soccer - The Women’s Soccer Club will compete in the NIRSA Regional Tournament from October 30-November 1 in Foley, AL.

Women's Strong Crew - The Strong Women Crew team will compete in the Music City Head Race on the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tenn on Saturday, October 31.

Fencing Club - The Fencing Club will compete at Troy Cullen Memorial/Halloween Open from October 31-November 1st in Williamsburg, VA.

Women’s Volleyball Club - The Women’s Volleyball Club has two 11-player teams: an A team and a B team. They will next compete on Saturday, November 7 at Clemson, SC.

Women's Cross Country: - The Women's Cross Country team will compete at the NIRCA Nationalls at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelby, Indiana on November 7.

Competitive Cheer - The Virginia Tech Competitive Cheer program is hosting a clinic on Sunday, November 8 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in Radford, VA.

Learn more about other teams: Softball, Wrestling, Golf, Swim, Field Hockey are lit. For example, the Women's Wrestling program had 3 MAC players and Shannon Fratus won the MAC championship at 160 lbs in the clubs first year of existence last year.

Stay tuned for news on other club teams. Send your updates and news for field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, tennis, and more!

Michael Turner

Women's Sports Analyst

I have been a Hokie since 1985. I graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in international relations and received my Master’s in international relations as well, which included spending time in Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.