Virginia Tech volleyball rallied from a six-point deficit late in the fourth set Sunday afternoon before surviving a pair of replay challenges in the fifth, defeating Syracuse in a five-set thriller (25-23 SU, 25-16 VT, 25-22 SU, 26-24 VT, 15-11 VT) in Upstate New York.
The Hokies (6-13, 3-7 ACC), who were swept by Boston College two days earlier, trailed two sets to one and faced a 20-14 deficit in the fourth set before mounting a comeback to force a decisive fifth set and ultimately secure their third conference victory of the season.
Sophomore outside hitter Adeline Hundl and junior outside hitter Reese Hazelton led Virginia Tech with 14 kills apiece, with Hundl's total marking a new career high. Senior pin hitter Destiny Walker added 13 kills and 14 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Hundl delivered the final two points of the match, hammering consecutive kills to seal the Hokies' 15-11 fifth-set victory. Her first brought Virginia Tech to match point, although Syracuse (5-13, 1-9 ACC) challenged the ruling after the ball appeared to potentially land beyond the boundary. The initial call stood, setting up Hundl's match-clinching kill on the ensuing rally.
It was the second replay challenge of the winner-take-all set, with the first coming just minutes earlier on an attack from Hazelton. With Virginia Tech leading 11-10, Hazelton leapt from the back row and delivered a powerful attack that appeared to land wide from the television angle. Syracuse challenged the ruling — though the point would’ve still belonged to Virginia Tech had the ball been touched by an Orange defender before landing out of bounds.
However, a mechanical malfunction with the replay system prevented officials from reviewing the play, allowing the original ruling to stand and extending the Hokies' advantage to 12-10.
Walker followed with her 13th kill of the afternoon to set the margin at 13-10, bringing Virginia Tech within two points of victory. Syracuse fifth-year middle blocker Abby Nicholson briefly halted the momentum with a kill that pulled the Orange to a two-point deficit, but Hundl's consecutive finishes completed the comeback.
Virginia Tech volleyball defeats Syracuse in a five-set thriller, rallying from a two-sets-to-one deficit. Sophomore outside hitter Adeline Hundl supplied a career-high 14 kills, while Reese Hazelton and Destiny Walker produced 14 and 13, respectively. #Hokies https://t.co/6CvPxK80kw
— Thomas Hughes (@thomashughes_05) October 25, 2026
The Hokies' fifth-set victory wouldn't have been possible without a dramatic turnaround in the fourth, though.
Syracuse led by as many as seven points in the frame and appeared poised to finish off Virginia Tech after building a 20-14 advantage. However, the Hokies scored eight of the next nine points, including two Hazelton service aces, to reverse the six-point deficit into a 22-21 lead.
The two teams traded points down the stretch, with a kill from Syracuse’s Nicholson and another from Tech’s Walker producing a 23-23 deadlock. Virginia Tech eventually reached set point at 24-23, but a Hazelton attack error evened the score again. Walker responded with another kill to give the Hokies their second opportunity to close out the set — and this time, Virginia Tech capitalized.
Syracuse outside hitter Kiernan Stamey sent her attack attempt just wide of the left sideline, giving the Hokies a 26-24 fourth-set victory and forcing a decisive fifth set. The dramatic finish followed a match in which neither team established consistent control.
The opening set featured 13 ties and five lead changes, with Virginia Tech holding an 18-17 advantage before Syracuse scored five consecutive points to take a 22-18 advantage. The Hokies battled back to within one at 24-23, but Stamey delivered a set-clinching kill to give the Orange a 25-23 victory.
Virginia Tech responded emphatically in the second set. After splitting the first two points, the Hokies rattled off seven consecutive points to build an 8-1 advantage, never relinquishing control en route to a 25-16 set win.
The Hokies hit .320 in the second frame while holding Syracuse to a -.091 hitting percentage, as the Orange committed 11 attack errors. Syracuse regained the upper hand in the third set, racing out to a 7-1 lead before Virginia Tech gradually erased the deficit.
A Hazelton kill eventually gave the Hokies a 22-21 advantage, putting them within three points of taking a 2-1 match lead. However, Syracuse responded with four consecutive points to claim the set 25-22. Despite the loss of momentum, Virginia Tech found a way to recover, rallying to win the final two sets. It’s the third time in the last four matchups in Syracuse, N.Y., that the Hokies have won.
Setter Camilla Brandalise finished with 48 assists, nine digs and three service aces, while middle blocker Isabella Mishler contributed six kills and six block assists. Middle blocker Georgia Trexler added five kills and four block assists in her second appearance of the season.
As a team, Virginia Tech recorded 56 kills on a .165 hitting percentage, compared to Syracuse's .083 mark. Both teams finished with 12.5 blocks — but the Orange committed 38 attack errors to the Hokies' 29.
Nicholson led Syracuse with 12 kills and nine block assists, while Stamey added 11 kills — though she committed 12 attack errors. The Hokies will now return to Blacksburg for four consecutive home matches, beginning with Florida State on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra. Virginia Tech will then welcome Miami on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 12:30 p.m. ET.
