December 4, 2003

Greg Smith may not have the cooking skills of Emeril Lagasse or the knack for creating recipes like Betty Crocker, but when it comes to mixing players together on a volleyball court, Smith knows what he is doing.

Prior to the Virginia Tech volleyball team's 2003 campaign, Smith was perplexed. Entering his third year as the Hokies' head coach, he knew that he had a strong left side in junior Annie Spicer and a durable setter in Melissa Markowski. As for his right side and libero, both senior Jenny Hill and sophomore Ashley Bayer, who saw action in 2002, returned to the court. As for a question mark at the middle hitter position, Smith looked to freshmen Katie Esbrook and Allie Kupec to fill the void.

The duo of Esbrook and Kupec made a huge impact on the team right from the start. In the Hokie Classic, which opened Tech's season, Kupec tallied 13 kills, a game-high five block assists and hit a sparkling .524 in her first collegiate start against Campbell. Esbrook responded to Kupec's performance with a superb match of her own, tallying three aces, 12 kills, a .529 percentage and five total blocks against East Tennessee State. En route to Tech's championship at the Hokie Classic, Spicer recorded 50 kills, 28 digs and eight blocks and was named the tournament's most valuable player.

After its success at the Hokie Classic, Tech hit the road for eight consecutive away matches. After falling to ranked teams such as in-state rival Virginia and Maryland, Tech was only able to come out of the trip with two wins.

While the team struggled, the freshman class continued to impress. Esbrook and Kupec remained a blocking and point scoring duo. Redshirt freshmen Erin Brugger and Colette Ramirez rotated in the line-up often and delivered impressive performances. Brugger notched 10 and 12 kills against N.C. State and the College of Charleston, respectively, while Ramirez totaled 10 kills verses High Point.

Returning to the comfort of their home court, the Hokies won their fourth straight home match of the year with a sweep over Radford. Unfortunately the Hokies perfect season at home was snapped at the VT Invite when Tech fell to both Northern Illinois and Cleveland State.

Smith knew all the ingredients for a perfect team were in his fingertips, he just had to get his team mixing better before BIG EAST action began. Aside from a neutral site, the Hokies had win a game away from home yet.

Tech was able to snap its unlucky road streak in a four-star way with a 3-0 BIG EAST sweep over Rutgers. Spicer had 18 kills, Markowski recorded 39 assists and Esbrook hit a sparking .562 with nine kills.

The Hokies continued their winning ways in New Jersey with a 3-1 victory over Seton Hall. Not only did the win make the team 2-0 in the conference, but it gave Smith his 50^th career coaching win. Spicer led the team with 16 kills, while Brugger notched a career-high 15 kills. On the defensive side, Hill racked up a season high five block assists.

The Hokies undefeated conference season was stopped when they hosted Boston College. The Eagles dropped the Hokies, 3-1, despite Spicer's 17 kills and Hill's season-high six block assists. Unable to bounce back right after their first conference loss, the Hokies were again snapped by Villanova in a five game tie-breaker, 2-3. Esbrook had her best defensive game of the year against the Wildcats, recording eight total blocks to complement 14 kills.

Tech went back to its winning ways with a victory over Georgetown, led by Spicer's match-high 20 kills and three aces.

After a disappointing loss to in-state rival Liberty, Smith knew his team would have to kick it up an notch before they faced their last seven teams, all BIG EAST opponents. While on the road, Tech was set to face three of the toughest teams in the conference; St. John's, Notre Dame and Miami.

Ten days after the loss to Liberty, the Hokies first conference trip was a pair of road matches against St. John's and Connecticut. In Jamaica, N.Y. Tech was unable to stop Jackie Ahlers, a three-time BIG EAST Player of the Week, and the Red Storm fried the Hokies, 3-0. This was only the second time in the season Tech fell in three. Esbrook tallied a game high seven blocks, but it wasn't enough to stop Ahlers 20 kills.

The Hokies next stop was in Storrs, Conn., where they would face a hungry Huskies team that finished second in the 2002 BIG EAST Tournament. The Hokies did not let the Huskies desire intimate them, and dropped UConn in five. Spicer (24), Esbrook (18), Kupec (14) Ramirez (13) and Hill (12) all finished the match with double-digit kills. Bayer recorded a season-high 19 digs and Markowski tallied a season-best 67 assists.

After turning in one of her best performances of the year against St. John's and UConn, Esbrook was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week.

Esbrook and the Hokies kept the fire going against Pittsburgh, and handed the Panthers their first conference loss of the year. The 3-0 win stopped a 12-match winning streak by Pittsburgh. Prior to the match, the Panthers were ranked 28^th in the NCAA in hitting percentage, but Hokies held them to only a chilling .062 for the match.

After the sweet victory over Pittsburgh, the Hokies finished their home season with a 3-0 sweep over West Virginia. All but two of the eight players who served for Tech recorded at least one ace in the match. Seniors Hill and Kelli O'Dell were honored before the match and Hill tallied nine kills and an impressive .600 hitting percentage, while O'Dell had three kills, 15 assists and five digs in a little over one game.

After winning three straight conference matches, the Hokies were as ready as they could ever be for BIG EAST rival Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were ranked 12^th in the nation and undefeated in the conference. In a match in front of over 8,000 Irish fans, the Hokies nearly upset Notre Dame, but lost in the fifth and final game. Spicer led the team with 21 kills, while Hill added 18. Markowski totaled 61 assists and 20 digs.

A win in Tech's last match of the season over Miami would have been icing on the cake for the Hokies. Depending on the outcome of Villanova's games, a win over the Hurricanes would put Tech in the BIG EAST tournament for the second straight year. Despite the warm weather of Coral Gables, Fla., the Hokies froze against the Hurricanes. Spicer led the team with 13 kills and Esbrook added eight.

As a team, the Hokies finished the season with a 13-14 overall record and were 7-5 in the BIG EAST. Individually, Spicer, Markowski and Esbrook each had one of the best seasons in Tech volleyball history. Spicer recorded 439 kills to put her in 10^th place in the school record book for kills in a season. She also averaged 4.26 kills per game, good enough for fifth place in that record. Esbrook and Markowski finished third and fourth, respectively, in season hitting percentages. Esbrook finished the season with a .333 mark, while Markowski ended the year with a .305 clip. In blocks in a season, Esbrook finished the year with 118 total (21 solo, 97 assisted), which puts her in ninth place.

Moving up in the career records, Spicer finished her 2003 campaign seventh in the record book for career kills with 1,078 and ninth in career aces with 114. Markowski ended the year in fourth in career assists with 2,618.

At the conference's annual pre-tournament award banquet, Spicer was named all-BIG EAST second team, while Markowski and Esbrook were recognized as honorable mentions.

After an upset over Pittsburgh and a near win over No.12 Notre Dame, the Virginia Tech volleyball team caused a stir of excitement in 2003. With all but two players returning for another season, the Hokies look to do the same in 2004.