Cavaliers’ win streak stopped in 3-0 loss at Wake Forest

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Coming off back-to-back ACC wins, the Virginia volleyball team fell, 16-25, 20-25, 23-25, at Wake Forest on Sunday in Reynolds Gymnasium in Winston-Salem.

The Cavaliers (11-12, 3-9 ACC) were led by middle blocker Abby Tadder, who posted a team-high eight kills with just one attack error on 12 swings to hit .583.

For the match, the Demon Deacons (13-10, 5-7) recorded 11 service aces, while UVA had nine service errors. Wake Forest hit .358 – the highest hitting percentage by an ACC opponent this season – with 41 kills and just 12 errors.

Set 1: Wake Forest 25, Virginia 16
The Demon Deacons leaped out to a 5-0 lead to start the match after registering three of their six total service aces of set No. 1 during the first five plays. Wake had a pair of four-point unanswered runs later in the set as the Demon Deacons took their largest lead of the game at 24-15 before ultimately winning, 25-16. Tadder led all UVA hitters with three kills on four swings in the first.

Set 2: Wake Forest 25, Virginia 20
Tadder came up with the Cavaliers’ first ace of the second to cut the Wake lead to 14-12. After that, the Demon Deacons put together a pair of 3-0 scoring runs to eventually secure a 21-15 lead. UVA struggled to get into a groove offensively as the Demon Deacons sided out on 62.5 percent of Cavalier serves.

Set 3: Wake Forest 25, Virginia 23
After winning the first point of set No. 3, Virginia grasped its first lead of the match. The Demon Deacons put together a 7-0 run later in the set to lead it, 9-3. The Cavaliers responded with six unanswered scores –including a pair of kills and a block assist by Tadder – to later tie the set at 11 apiece. The two teams were neck-and-neck for the remainder of the set, but Wake won three of the last four points to win the set, 25-23, and match in sweeping fashion.

NOTES 

• In her 55th collegiate match, Simone Dominique made her first career start in Sunday’s contest.
• Wake Forest’s 11 service aces tied for the most by a UVA opponent this season in a three-set match. Then-No. 15 Florida also had 11 aces in the Cavaliers’ third match of the season on Aug. 28.
• The Demon Deacons’ .358 hitting percentage is second-best by a Virginia opponent and best since the Gators did so earlier this year.
• With the win, the Demon Deacons extended their win streak in the series to four consecutive matches and improved to 27-28 in the all-time series, which began on Oct. 17, 1980.

UP NEXT
Virginia continues its ACC road swing next weekend when the Cavaliers travel to Boston College on Friday at 1 p.m. and Syracuse on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches are slated to stream on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).