November 9, 2003

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Virginia Tech volleyball team won its seventh conference match of the season when it defeated Syracuse this afternoon, 3-2, at Manley Field House. Game scores were 16-30, 25-30, 30-24, 30-26 and 17-15.

The Orangemen won the first two games, but the Hokies fought back and won the last three games to claim the victory.

Katie Esbrook led all players with a .615 hitting percentage on 17 kills and just one error on 26 attempts. She added five digs and four blocks. Melissa Markowski notched a double-double with 64 assists and 16 digs. Annie Spicer also had a double-double with 16 kills on 55 attempts and 13 digs. Colette Ramirez tallied 12 kills and eight digs, while Jenny Hill led the Hokies with 20 kills. Allie Kupec was a force at the net with seven kills and six blocks. Ashley Bayer led Tech with 21 digs.

With her 16 kills in the victory, Spicer moved into a tie for seventh place in the Tech record book for career kills with 1,065. Esbrook (.615 hitting percentage) and Hill (20 kills) both recorded personal bests against the Orangemen.

Virginia Tech improves to 13-13 overall and 7-4 in the conference, while Syracuse falls to 17-15 on the year and 3-7 in the BIG EAST.

The Hokies return to action on Friday, Nov. 15, when they travel to Coral Gables, Fla., for a match against conference rival Miami at 7 p.m. This will be Tech's last regular season match.