Volleyball: Cavaliers sweep Tigers, off to best ACC start in 18 years

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia volleyball’s brilliant start to ACC play continued on Friday evening as the Cavaliers defeated Clemson in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-21) at Jervey Gymnasium.

With Friday’s victory, Virginia (14-2, 4-1 ACC) is off to its first 4-1 start in league play since 2006. The last time that the Cavaliers swept three straight ACC opponents also happened during the 2006 season.

Virginia was led by Elayna Duprey (12 kills) and Kate Dean (11 kills, 0 errors, .733 Hit%, 6 blocks) while Zoey Dood tied her season-high with two aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1: Virginia 25, Clemson 20
After allowing the first point of the match to Clemson (8-8, 0-5), Virginia never trailed again in the opening set. The Cavaliers raced out to a 10-4 advantage on the heels of a 6-0 Virginia run. Clemson trimmed the Cavalier lead down to two at 11-9 before four kills each from Duprey and Abby Tadder pushed the Hoos to claim the opening set.

Set 2: Virginia 25, Clemson 19
In more of a back-and-forth affair, the two squads found themselves tied at 10-10 before a 3-0 Virginia sprint forced a Clemson timeout at 13-10. Following the timeout, the Hoos never trailed again in the match and finished off the second set scoring seven of the final nine points. Duprey had seven kills in the set to lead all participants.

Set 3: Virginia 25, Clemson 21
Riding the momentum from the previous set, Virginia opened the third on a 4-1 run highlighted by a pair of Dean kills. Clemson stormed back to tie the game at 12-12 to force a Virginia timeout. Out of the timeout, the Hoos tallied four of the next five points to stifle the Tigers’ comeback. Dean ended the game with a set-high six kills as Junior powered the Cavaliers to victory.

ADDITIONAL NOTES  

• Dean’s .733 hitting percentage tied for the fourth-highest hitting percentage by a Cavalier during a three-set match in program history.
• Duprey finished with a match-high 12 kills.
• Dood had a match-high two aces to tie her season-best.
• UVA’s 45 kills against the Tigers matched the Cavaliers’ 45 kills against Miami (Oct. 6) for the most in a sweep over an ACC opponent since recording 46 at home against Virginia Tech in 2022.

WITH THE WIN…  

• UVA is off to its first 4-1 start in ACC play since 2006.
• Virginia is 14-2 (or better) for the first time since 2003, when it won its first 16 matches of the season.
• The Cavaliers are 10-1 in their last 11 matches.
• UVA snapped a seven-match losing skid against Clemson and improved to 24-46 in the all-time series, which began in 1981.
• Virginia swept Clemson for the first time since Nov. 8, 2019.
• The Cavaliers earned their third consecutive victory over an ACC opponent for the first time since winning four straight in 2014.
• The Hoos have swept three straight ACC opponents for the first time since 2006.
• The Hoos tallied their sixth sweep of the year, the most in a single season since totaling seven in 2019.

UP NEXT  

The Cavaliers will conclude the weekend at No. 20 Georgia Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m. Sunday’s weekend finale can be streamed on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).