Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech leveraged a stellar performance in the cage from Jocelyn Torres and a hat-trick from Olivia Vergano to hang around with No. 1 North Carolina, but ultimately fell to the visitors, 10-6.
Despite getting handful of good looks early, the Hokies fell behind and trailed 5-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Tar Heels tacked on another goal before Lauren Render opened the scoring for the Hokies with 10:09 in the second quarter. Blair Guy added another before the break, setting the score at 7-2 at the half.
Torres had her strongest quarter of the game fresh out of halftime, as she recorded five of her 15 saves in the third quarter.
After a trio of third quarter goals, Tech faced an eight-goal deficit that it cut in half with a strong closing quarter.
Hannah Mardiney started off the scoring with a goal that she squeezed in between the goalies' legs to provide Tech its first goal of the second half. To close out the game in the final 12 minutes, Olivia Vergano showcased the firepower that Tech fans grew accustomed to in 2022, as she netted three goals.
With her fourth quarter hat-trick, Vergano locked up the eight game of her career with 3+ goals. Gallery: (2-24-2023) LAX: UNC Game