In a meeting of two of the very top teams in the Cardinals Conference men's DII college competition, North Carolina State defeated Virginia Military Institute 34-29.

Both teams have high expectations in the league, and so it was no surprise the game was that close.

For VMI, flyhalf Thomas Mitchell was a standout, and No. 8 Cory Atkins led the forwards and scored.

VMI Coach Thomas Trumps praised the NC State ball skills, especially in the back row.

For NC State, Jack Dalton was superb in the scrum, while twin brothers Jack and Tom Kiernan were excellent, showcasing those skills Trumps talked about and keeping NC State moving forward.

"Our backs played solid all around, but they pressured hard and rattled us," said NC State Coach Brian Ketchem. "They all got it together and put together some nice tries in the second half."

Also in the Cardinals, Old Dominion got on the winning side with a 40-19 defeat of Christopher Newport. William and Mary is now 2-0 after beating Hampden-Sydney. Washington and Lee is 2-0 also after defeating Duke.

Next week, William and Mary takes on 1-0 Richmond in a key clash in the Southeast Division, and VMI looks to rebound against Washington and Lee.