Volleyball: Cavaliers overcome adversity, defeat Hokies in five sets

By Colin Moore
JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent

In a huge match for a pair of in-state rivals coming off of losing streaks, Virginia prevailed in five sets over Virginia Tech on Wednesday at Memorial Gymnasium.

The Hokies came out fast in each set, making it very difficult for the Cavaliers throughout. Both teams traded sets, with Tech winning the first and third sets and UVA winning the second and fourth sets.

The Hoos (18-6, 8-5 ACC) totalled 58 kills in the match, with the leaders being Elayna Duprey (13), Abby Tadder (12) and Becca Wight (11). Ashley Le led in assists with 21, and she also had 3 tricky sets over the net, catching the Hokies off guard. Defensively, Kate Johnson was all over the court, earning 20 digs in the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1: VT 26, UVA 24
The Cavaliers started this set slowly, as they allowed Virginia Tech (7-16, 1-12) to score the opening three points of the match. Once they settled in, the Hoos traded points the majority of the set with the Hokies. UVA was able to take a slight lead late at 21-19 after two huge plays by Tadder. One was a great block on the Hokies’ middle hitter and the other was a great kill on a Hokies overpass with no blockers. Unfortunately, the Hokies made a run late and took the set with two great kills.

Set 2: UVA 25, VT 16
Duprey came to prove something to her old team early in this set, racking up two early kills, one from the back row to give the Hoos a early 10-5 advantage, forcing the Hokies into a timeout. Tech made a run of four straight points midway through the set to get within four at 16-12, forcing a UVA timeout. Le had multiple timely serves and also earned a few points when she would set the ball over the net, tricking the defense. The Hoos rallied to come up on top and level the match at one set each.

Set 3: VT 25, UVA 19
It was another slow start for Virginia in the third set, as Tech took control and dictated play. The Hokies were able to force the Hoos into multiple errors, allowing them to double up the score midway through at 14-7. The Cavaliers were able to make a comeback late, making it 21-17. Unfortunately for the Hoos, a questionable lengthy call was made by the officials and turned the momentum away from the Hoos, where they ultimately fell by six points.

Set 4: UVA 25 , VT 17
The Cavaliers battled in a close fourth set with the Hokies. Lauren Bowie started the set extremely well, as she had three kills to earn the first three points for the Hoos. Duprey was able to add two timely kills, allowing the Hoos to go up by five at 19-14. Tadder made a set-clinching, solo block to get the final point of the set.

Set 5: UVA 15 , VT 8
The Cavaliers again went down 0-2 to start the set before locking in and making some big plays. Zoey Dood served a fantastic ace to tie the set at 3-3 before the Hoos began to grow a slight lead. Wight made numerous big plays on both ends late to secure the victory for the Hoos.

WITH THE WIN…
Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• With an overall record of 18-6, Virginia is off to its best start since 2003.
• The eight ACC wins are the most in a season since winning 10 league matches in 2015.
• The Cavaliers move to 7-1 in five-set matches this season.
• Virginia now leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech 42-40 and is riding a five-match win streak over the Hokies.
• The five-match win streak is the longest for Virginia over Virginia Tech since winning seven-straight from 1995-01.

UP NEXT

The Hoos will travel to Blacksburg on Friday at noon (ACC Network Extra) to face the Hokies in a rematch.