Volleyball team to face must-win games

The Boston College volleyball team, still feeding off its thrilling five set victory over St. John's last week, performed the feat again by winning the last three sets in a five set match against Central Connecticut State University. The week ended in disappointment, however, as the Eagles dropped a must-win match against Virginia Tech. The Eagles played both matches without freshman setter Jessica Brizzolara, who was replaced by junior Lauren Schwer. Schwer filled in effectively in the first match, tallying 46 assists. BC would lose the first two sets, 30-28 and 30-23, but just as they did last week against St. John's, BC took the third and fourth sets, 30-28 and 30-27.

Once again, the Eagles would not give up after falling behind early. The Eagles kept up their strong play and squeaked by in the fifth set, 16-14. Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Powers (13 kills, nine digs) and junior outside hitter Rachel Bach (14 kills) played a strong game for BC.

The win was the Eagles' 17th of the season, tying the school record set in 1987. Now 17-8, BC has four more games left. The first chance came Friday night against Virginia Tech.

BC suffered a setback in their hopes of reaching the Big East Tournament as the Hokies defeated BC in straight sets (30-21, 30-24, 30-23). The Eagles' offense struggled throughout the match despite a solid game by freshman middle blocker Dara Blandino (12 kills, six digs) and Schwer (28 assists, five digs). It was the third straight match in which the Eagles dropped the opening two sets, but their magic had run out and could not come back for a third time. Boston College fell to 17-9 and had to wait another game to try to eclipse the school record for victories. Even more disheartening is that the Eagles are now 4-5 in conference, which has the team tied for seventh with Seton Hall. Only the top four teams make the tournament, so each remaining game is a must-win for BC.