Volleyball: Cavaliers drop first match of season in five-set loss to App State

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

In the final match of the 2025 Cavalier Classic, the Virginia volleyball team dropped a five-setter (14-25, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 14-16) to App State on Saturday afternoon at the Aquatic & Fitness Center.

Becca Wight paced the Cavalier attack on Saturday with a career-high 15 kills. The UVA outside duo of Kadynce Boothe and Lauryn Bowie each collected nine kills of their own in the contest. Jasmine Robinson tallied a career-best seven blocks on Saturday on defense. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Set 1: App State 25, Virginia 14
To open the match, Virginia (4-1) tallied six of the first eight points in the set, led by Robinson. The visiting Mountaineers (6-0) answered by going on a 9-1 run to force a UVA timeout at 11-7. The Cavaliers were forced to use another timeout at 18-12. Out of the timeout, App State seized the game with a 7-2 run. 

Set 2: App State 25, Virginia 23
App State built a steady advantage in the early going of the second set and led by as many as six at 16-10 to force UVA to call a timeout. The timeout jump started the Cavalier attack as UVA tallied seven of thenext eight points to tie the game at 17-17. Virginia briefly took the lead before App State ended the set with a 6-1 run of its own. 

Set 3: Virginia 25, App State 23
Saturday’s third set proved to be more of a back-and-forth affair as the two squads played to nine ties and five lead changes. Through the heart of the set, UVA and App State traded 3-0 runs, but neither team could build on its momentum. In the later stages, Virginia wrestled away control at set point with a Vivian Miller service ace and a Kate Dean kill to claim the set. 

Set 4: Virginia 26, App State 24
App State opened the fourth set by collecting six of the first eight points in the game. Not to be deterred, the Cavaliers answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead at 9-6. At 12-12, an App State service error preceded back-to-back service aces from Vivian Miller that put UVA back on top at 15-12. Following a 23-all tie, a Mountaineer attack error and a Kate Johnson service error force a fifth set. 

Set 5: App State 16, Virginia 14
The visiting Mountaineers started the fifth set hot once again by jumping out to a 6-2 advantage. Virginia evened the set at 6-6 with a 3-0 run that was highlighted by a Miller kill. Wight’s 15th and final kill of the match gave UVA match point at 14-11 and forced App State to take a timeout. Following the timeout, the Mountaineers tallied the final five points of the set to take the match.  

ADDITIONAL NOTES 

• The match with App State was the first five-set match for Virginia this season.
• App State improves to 1-6 in the all-time series with UVA, which began in 1995.
• Katie Barrier tied her career-high with a trio of service aces for the second consecutive match.
• Becca Wight’s 15 kills are the most by a Cavalier this season.
• Zoey Dood and Hannah Scott each collected a double-double on Saturday.  

UP NEXT

Virginia will head to Auburn on Tuesday for a midweek match as part of the Showdown at the Net between the ACC and SEC. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on SEC Network+.