Volleyball: Hoos top Hoyas in three sets to jumpstart season-opening weekend

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia volleyball team opened its 2025 campaign by defeating the Georgetown Hoyas in three sets (25-17, 29-27, 25-17) at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C., on Friday night.

Lauryn Bowie paced the Cavaliers in the season opener with a team-best nine kills and six blocks. Reagan Ennist and Kaydence Boothe each registered eight kills while Katie Barrier had a match-high 22 digs on the defensive end.

With the win, UVA moves to 4-1 in season opener during the Shannon Wells era, including three-straight sweeps.

HOW IT HAPPENED   

Set 1: Virginia 25, Georgetown 17
After falling behind 3-0 in the early going of the set, the Cavaliers (1-0) took control with a 10-0 run that was powered by three aces, a block and a kill from Boothe. Jasmine Robinson and Bowie teamed up for back-to-back blocks that pushed the Virginia advantage to 15-7. In the later stages, Ennist made it a 23-14 set with the first two kills of her UVA career.

Set 2: Virginia 29, Georgetown 27
The second set proved to be more of a back-and-forth affair as the two teams played to seven different ties. Following a 20-20 tie, the two squads continued to trade points until a Georgetown service error and a Becca Wight kill helped Virginia claim victory.

Set 3: Virginia 25, Georgetown 17
Led by Ennist and Boothe, Virginia sprinted out to an 8-2 advantage to take a commanding lead early in the final set. The Hoyas (0-1) clawed their way back to within four at 10-6 before UVA strung along six-straight points that were punctuated by Vivian Miller’s first kill in a Cavalier uniform. One last Georgetown push was thwarted with a Hoya attack error before another Miller kill sealed the season-opening sweep.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• UVA out-hit Georgetown, .276 to .117.
• Virginia tallied six service aces on the night to the Hoyas’ one.
• Reagan Ennist, Jasmine Robinson, Vivian Miller, Caroline Lang, Katie Barrier and Hannah Scott all made their Cavalier debut on Friday.
• In total, 15 Cavaliers made an appearance in the season opener.

WITH THE WIN …

• The Cavaliers are now 30-17 all-time in season openers and have won 10 of the last 12 such contests.
• UVA moves to 16-11 all-time against Georgetown.
• Virginia has won its fourth consecutive season openers under head coach Shannon Wells.

UP NEXT

Virginia will take on George Washington at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Charles E. Smith Center. The contest is set to be streamed on ESPN+.