Volleyball: Cavaliers sweep Hurricanes at JPJ

By Colin Moore
JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent

Virginia delivered another monster performance at John Paul Jones Arena Sunday, defeating Miami in three sets (25-21, 25-22, 22-16).

Both teams were coming off great ACC wins earlier this week, with Miami beating Virginia Tech and the Cavaliers taking down Florida State in a straight three sets. This match was no different, as the Hoos continued their hot streak in JPJ and won this match in 3 sets as well.

The Cavaliers (13-2, 3-1 ACC) were led by Elayna Duprey (12 kills, .207 Hit%, 3 digs), Kate Dean (8 kills, .429 Hit%, 6 blocks), while the defense was paced by libero Milan Gomillion (12 Digs) and Brooklyn Borum and Kate Johnson, who provided 11 digs each. Both UVA setters contributed, with 13 assists by Zoey Dood and 22 coming from Ashley Le.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Set 1: Virginia 25, Miami 21
It was a very competitive first set between both teams. The Hoos went down early but were able to fight through some points that didn’t go their way. Midway through the set, the Cavaliers and Hurricanes (10-5, 1-3) traded points before three straight points by Dood to tie the match at 15. The Hoos then began to pull away with some great team defense and some timely swings by Borum and Duprey.

Set 2: Virginia 25, Miami 22
The second set was just like the first, as both teams battled throughout while facing some referee discrepancies. The Hoos did not allow this to affect their performance and had a few crucial momentum plays. Lauryn Bowie and Abby Tadder each had crucial kills to allow the Hoos to take a slight advantage at the end of the set. The final point was from a great service from Johnson, which led to a big block by Tadder to end the set.

Set 3: Virginia 25, Miami 16
UVA continued its positive play into the third set as well. The Hoos had an initial kill by Dean to take a 1-0 lead and stayed on the attack throughout. The Cavaliers had a crucial momentum challenge at 8-6 that went in their favor and really allowed them to begin to pull away. The Hoos’ largest lead of the set was 10 when they were up 24-14 with a huge kill by Duprey.

“I am just proud of this team,” said UVA head coach Shannon Wells. “We had over 45 alumni here this weekend with some big-time recruits in the house, so to be able to showcase where this program is and where it is going in the future was very exciting. I am very humbled and excited. We’re going to enjoy this for a couple days and then get back to work this week.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Kate Dean tied her season high of six blocks.

• Elayna Duprey finished with a match-high 12 kills on 28 swings.

• UVA’s 45 kills against the Hurricanes are its most in a sweep over an ACC opponent since recording 46 at home against Virginia Tech in 2022.

• Sunday’s attendance of 2,892 fans is the second largest crowd in program history only before 2023’s JPJ takeover of which saw 3,162 fans in attendance.

WITH THE WIN…

• UVA is off to its first 3-1 start in ACC play since 2015.

• Virginia improved to 2-0 in matches held at John Paul Jones Arena.

• Virginia is 13-2 (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 12-match losing skid against Miami and improved to 10-20 in the all-time series, which began in 2004.

• Virginia swept Miami for the first time since Oct. 13, 2006.

• The Cavaliers earned their second consecutive victory over an ACC opponent for the first time since 2019, when they took down Boston College and Virginia Tech in straight sets.

• The Hoos tallied their fifth sweep of the year, the most in a single season since totaling five in 2021.

• UVA defeated both Miami and Florida State in the same season for the first time since 2010.

UP NEXT

The Hoos take on another league opponent at Clemson on Friday at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ACC Network.