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The Corner: Volleyball Surges Against Clemson For First ACC Win. Soccer Falters

News, Notes, and Events Round Up For All Women's Fall Sports. Cross Country Club Rolls!

Michael Turner·October 2, 2026

The Corner: Volleyball Surges Against Clemson For First ACC Win. Soccer Falters

WOMEN'S FALL SPORTS UPDATES AT THE CORNER

Friday night is a huge night in Blacksburg. The 4-0 Virginia Tech football team welcomes a similarly undefeated Pitt Panthers for a much anticipated game that has Hokie fans abuzz. While everyone waits for that game to get underway, come to The Corner, the spot for women;s sports news and events. This promises to be a jam-packed weekend with so much going on in addition to the VT-Pitt game!

WHAT’S ON TAP - UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The upcoming weekend packed with upcoming varsity games and events:

Women’s Cross Country - Next event is Friday, Oct. 2 at 5:00 pm - Fire Tower Project at Appalachian State in Boone, NC.

Volleyball - Next event is Friday, Oct. 2 at 10:00 pm - at Stanford - in Stanford, CA and then Saturday, Oct. 3 at 9:00 pm - in Berkeley, CA.

Women’s Swimming and Diving - Next event is Friday-Saturday, Oct. 2-3 - against Liberty, Penn State, and West Virginia - at Christiansburg, VA.

Softball - Fall Ball Schedule on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:00 pm against Radford has been postponed to Friday, October 30 at 5:00 pm - at Radford

Women’s Soccer - Next event is Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 pm - against Louisville - in Blacksburg, VA.

Lacrosse - Fall schedule on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 11:15 am against JMU and 12:30 against VCU.

Women’s Golf - Next event is Mon-Wed, Oct 5-7 at The Ally - at West Point, Miss.

Women’s Basketball - ACC Tip Off will be held in Charlotte, NC between Oct 6-8.

VOLLEYBALL FLIPS A SWITCH TO BECOME A TEAM OF “DESTINY” AND DEFEATS CLEMSON IN 3 SETS (19-25, 25-17,25-23, 25-23)

The Virginia Tech volleyball had started 0-1 in ACC play and had struggled mightily in their last two matches against Georgia Tech and South Carolina. Indeed, the Hokies dropped their first set to Georgia Tech last Friday, September 25 by the score of 25-8. If anything could go wrong, it did, exemplified by 5 total kills versus 10 attack errors for a negative hitting percentage. While Virginia Tech battled to make the other two sets more competitive, the team left Atlanta with a 3 set loss that felt symptomatic of its recent struggles.

The Hokies then traveled to Clemson this past Sunday hoping to turn their fortunes around, but the first set against the Tigers featured more of the same ailments that afflicted the team.

In reality, the Hokies started the first set hot. They welcomed Reese Hazelton back to a more substantial role after being out recently with an injury sustained in practice.

Both teams traded early points, but, with the score 3-3, Adeline Hundl, Isabella Mishler, and Destiny Walker put down kills for the Hokies; Mishler and Paloma Zubiri denied Clemson at the net; and the Tigers committed hitting errors to help Virginia Tech widen its lead to 10-5. The Hokies had momentum and had Clemson on its heels.

Clemson called a timeout and Virginia Tech’s momentum turned aboutface. Clemson became more efficient in their kills whereas the Hokie hitters began to spray balls long or into the net or had issues with serve receive. The Tigers went on a 10-1 run without Virginia Tech calling a timeout. Finally, a media timeout with Clemson up 15-11 gave the Hokies a chance to regroup.

Coming out of the timeout, Clemson kept its momentum going while Virginia Tech had yet another attacking error to push the score to 18-11. The Hokies finally called timeout and responded. Walker had a nice kill, and Walker, Mishler, and Frances Torres provided two huge blocks to bring Virginia Tech within 19-16. However, Clemson closed out the set strong on the back of a 6-3 run to win the set 25-19.

That first set, especially when Clemson turned it around, felt like deja vu for the Hokies. Virginia Tech’s hitting percentage was .057, with more hitting errors (8) than kills (6). Add in 3 serve errors and the Hokies gave up nearly half the points in the set from attacking and service errors. It would have been easy to feel the game was headed down the same path as the Georgia Tech match.

However, Virginia Tech became a team of “Destiny” in the second set, and Destiny Walker and so many teammates made game-changing play after game-changing play.

The Hokies came out with greater energy and efficiency to start the second set. Both teams battled to a 6-6 standstill, but Hokie hitters were bringing the heat. Of those 6 points, Walker, Mishler, Torres, and Isabela Lopez all delivered kills in a diversified attack.

Video from this post on X — September 27, 2026 · View on X

Even when the Tigers pulled ahead, 8-6, Mishler, Adeline Hundl, and Layla Moore continuously rose up to block Clemson’s momentum. At the same time, libero Ivy Cooper was everywhere preventing balls from hitting the floor, to the tune of 5 digs in the second set.

With the score at 14-13 in favor of the Hokies, setter Camilla Brandalise delivered a kill and then Hundl had two more strong attacks to go up three However, Clemson clawed back to narrow the gap to 17-16 until Walker got hot. She had three straight kills to help widen Virginia Tech’s lead to 21-16. From there, Mishler, Hundl, Walker denied the Tigers at the net two straight plays to close out the set 25-17.

The pivotal second set was likely Virginia Tech’s best set in five matches. Walker had 5 kills in the set while five other players also contributed kills. In fact, the Hokies had 14 total kills and ZERO errors for a blistering .400 hitting percentage. They also had 8 blocks, led by Mishler and Hundl with three apiece.

Virginia Tech had renewed life and carried that momentum into the third set. It was not easy as the two teams battled back and forth to a 20-20 tie. The Hokies fell behind after two straight attack errors, but Hundl and Walker knocked down two kills to tie the set at 22-22. After an attack error gave Clemson a 22-23 lead, Mishler laid down a kill, and then Mishler and Brandalise shut the door with two straight blocks to finish the set 25-23.

The fourth set was another tight affair until a series of attack and service errors allowed Clemson to carve out a 9-5 lead. Isabela Lopez, Frances Torres, and Destiny Walker all had kills that helped the Hokies to tie the set at 10-10.

Even after Clemson once again went up 13-10, a service ace by Tech’s Brandalise and kills by Lopez and Hundl brought the Hokies back.

From there, the two teams kept it close and, with the set tied at 23-23, Frances Torres delivered a kill to put Tech up one. A Clemson attack error gave the Hokies a 25-23 set win and the match, 3 sets to 1.

The win over Clemson should be a confidence builder for the Hokies. Not only did they come out blazing in the second set, they closed out the final two sets when those frames could have gone either way. Virginia Tech, now 1-1 in ACC play, travels to the west coast to take No. 13-ranked Stanford on Friday, October 2 at 10:00 pm ET and then California on Saturday, October 3 at 9:00 pm. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNx.

Match Notes

Destiny Walker recorded a double-double, her second of the season. She had 15 kills and an amazing 26 digs. She achieved a .455 hitting percentage in the second set.
Adeline Hundl added 8 kills
Isabela Lopez had a career high 8 kills.
Frances Torres recorded 6 kills
Isabella Mishler led the team with 10 blocks while recording 5 kills and recording a .231 hitting percentage.

Camilla Brandalise delivered a career-high 38 assists and added 5 blocks of her own.
Ivy Cooper was second on the team with 18 digs.
The Hokies are now 1-1 in ACC play and 4-7 overall.

WOMEN'S SOCCER DROPS ROAD GAME AGAINST NC STATE, 0-3

After opening its ACC slate with two tight wins in which the Hokies scored late to close out wins, Virginia Tech traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina last Sunday, September 27 to take on NC State.

The Hokies had a golden opportunity after 12 minutes of play when Elle Robertson stole a NC State pass just across midfield. She moved the ball inside to Anna Weir, who passed to Eliana Salama to the right side of the box. Salama delivered the ball across the front of the goal to Lilli Lubic, who got a sliding foot on the ball only to see the ball go just wide left of the goal.

Unfortunately, NC State took advantage of their opportunity in the 16th minute when a Wolfpack Alex Mohr stole a Hokie pass and gave the ball to a teammate moving down the left outside of the box. She delivered a cross to NC State star Jade Bordeleau who was open for a header as her defender drifted away from her. Bordeleau nailed the header for a goal to give NC State the 1-0 lead.

Virginia Tech found itself in more difficulty four minutes later when Peyton May was given a yellow card for a late tackle that was elevated to a red card after a VAR review..With May dismissed from the field, the Hokies had to play the rest of the game with 10 players.

NC State struck again just before half-time when NC State sent a pass into Virginia Tech’s box. A Hokie defender in position to take on the bowl stepped to her right anticipating having to take on another Wolfpack player. The timing of that step gave NC State’s Mana Nakata a free path toward goal. Nakata recomposed herself for a 1-on-1 shot against goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo that gave NC State a 2-0 lead.

Virginia Tech had several chances throughout the game, even down a player, but could never finish in the final third. Its best chance came with 29 minutes left in the second half off a set piece. The Hokies delivered a free kick into a scrum in the box. Gabby Ciocca got a head on the ball, but it bounced off the woodwork. Anna Weir attempted to put away the rebound, but her header also hit the top of the goal.

The Wolfpack completed the scoring with a goal late in the game when a long ball beat the defense. Trujillo came out to challenge the NC State player, who made a move and shelved the ball past the Hokie goalkeeper for the final 3-0 margin.

The Hokies, now 6-2-3 and 2-1 in the ACC, welcome Louisville (8-1-2, 2-0-2 in the ACC) to Blacksburg for a game on Saturday, October 3 at 7:00. The game will be streamed on ACCNx. The Cardinals own a 1-0 win over No. 6 Stanford and a 0-0 against No. 22 Florida State.

Game Notes:

The normally prolific Hokies only had 11 shots and only 3 shots on goal whereas NC State recorded 17 shots, with 8 shots on goal.
Madi Boutot was the only non-goalkeeper to play all 90 minutes of the game.
Goalkeeper Julianna Trujillo made 5 saves.

TENNIS: ELIZAVETA CASTILLO TAKES BRONZE, AND THE HOKIES WELCOME A NEW COACH

International Flair: Sophomore Elizaveta Castillo has been away competing for Peru at the 2026 South American Games in Argentina last week. She won a bronze middle in doubles with her partner Beveraggi Lespiau

New Coach: The tennis program has brought on new volunteer assistant coach Vikranth Reddy, He most recently served as an assistant coach at Anderson University in South Carolina, where he was involved in the recruiting, on-court coaching, and match preparation for the Trojans/

Next Up: The tennis team will next compete in the ITA Regional Championships October 15-19 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Hokies who will enter the tournament have not been released yet.

THE CLUB CORNER
Don’t miss the Club Corner of Women’s sports at Virginia Tech. We will highlight other programs, including women’s club teams, so come to The Corner for more coverage. Today’s spotlight shines on the women’s cross country club as well as the equestrian organization.

Virginia Tech Cross Country Club

The women’s (and men's) Cross Country Club competed at the JMU Dashing Dukes event last Sunday, September 27. The team finished in first place with a team average time (top 5 runners) of 24:38.99 against UVA, William & Mary, and the host JMU.

Individually, Virginia Tech four 4 runners finished in the top 6 spots and placed 16 runners in the top 45 (35.5% of the runners placing in top 45).

Alexia Ladstaetter finished in first place with a time of 23:40.79. Mary Mansfield came behind her in second with a time of 24:22.00. Maria Reid finished in fourth place with a time of 24:25. 63, and Ashley Mortensen rounded out the top finishers in sixth place with a time of 24:49.01. See the graphic below for all the Virginia Tech finishers in the top 45.

The Virginia Tech Cross Country Club competes next on Friday, October 2 in the Paul Short Open at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Virginia Tech Equestrian Team

The Virginia Tech Equestrian IHSA Team finished in 6th place with 31 points at the Pre-Season Tournament of Champions held on September 27 in Rustburg, Virginia. The host Lynchburg’s Red Team took first place with 50 points.

Virginia Tech placed in the following categories:

Open Fences A - 3rd Place

Open Flat B - 1st Place

Intermediate Fences B - 6th place

Intermediate Flat B - 3rd Place

Limit Fences B - 2nd Place

Limit Flat A - 5th Place

Novice A - 4th Place

Introductory B - 2nd Place

The Equestrian team next competes in the Hollins IHSA on October 3-4 at Hollins University. For more information on the Hunter, Dressage, and Western and Instagram site Teams, visit their website and Instagram site

Upcoming Events for the Weekend of October 2-4:

Women' s Rugby Club - Oct. 2 - 1:00 pm - vs Queens

Women’s Cross Country Club - Oct. 2 - Paul Short Open at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA

Women’s Club Soccer - Oct. 3 - 11:00 am and 2:00 pm - vs Richmond and ODU - Sports Club Turf

Women’s Club Basketball - Oct. 3 - 8:00 am - vs. UNCW and William & Mary - War Memorial Gym

Fencing Tournament - Oct 3 - 9:00 am - Rec Sports Fieldhouse

Equestrian Hunter Team - Oct. 3-4 - Hollins IHS - Hollins University

Field Hockey - Oct 4 - 9:00 am and 11:00 am - vs. Pitt and USCA - Marching Virginians Field

There is a wide range of Sports Clubs that compete against other universities. Stay Tuned for news on Competitive Cheer, Crew, Cycling, Water Polo, and many others. Organizers and fans are invited to send information about events, results, and other news that can be featured in The Club Corner!

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.