After being convincingly beat on the road by Virginia Tech a mere 11 days ago, Virginia had only revenge on their minds last night. The Cavalier volleyball team came out strong and snapped a six-match Hokies winning streak, toppling Tech 3-1 (30-28, 29-31, 30-21, 30-24).
It feels really good," freshman Lauren Dickson said of the win. "We've been working hard and focused on beating them. It just feels good."
Virginia opened the first game strong with Oakes leading the way to an 11-7 lead for the Cavaliers. Oakes continued her hot streak, slamming five kills in the first game. The Hokies climbed back into it, however, tying the score 17-17. The game ended in a point-by-point battle between the teams with Virginia eventually coming out on top 30-28.
Virginia Tech jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in game two, but Virginia was able to even the score at 7-7 on a bad set by Tech setter Michelle Lang. Oakes reached double figures in kills in the second match as she and Osco announced their presence for the Cavaliers. The Virginia defense struggled under redshirt junior libero Beth Shelton.
"It's tough to be a libero and tough to play volleyball in the ACC," coach Melissa Shelton said. "Beth is learning a new position and she's just getting used to it."
The game was marked by a series of controversial calls by the officials, but Tech eventually took game two 29-31.
The Cavalier offense took off again to begin game three as Virginia opened up a 10-5 lead on the Hokies. Shannon Davis came on strong for Virginia in game three, slamming three kills and hitting for .750. Osco had a career milestone in game three. Late in the match, she became the fifth Virginia player to have both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in their career. Virginia was able to win game three easily 30-21.
Virginia Tech showed life in game four, coming out on a 6-2 run. Virginia eventually took the lead back on the heels of an unusual service error by Kendra Sytsma. Sytsma tossed the ball up and then caught it, giving Virginia the momentum. Virginia took the lead at 9-8 and never looked back. The Cavaliers were able to ride the strength of Osco and Dickson to a 30-24 win.
The Cavalier offense again showed its might, with four players in double figures in kills. In addition to Osco and Dickson, Davis and Oakes were also in double digits. The offense has been forced to step up of late, to compensate for the loss of power hitter Sarah Kirkwood.
"I am very pleased with the leadership of our fourth years with people stepping up," Shelton said. "Katie Oakes has been tremendous and really stepped up. Emily Kirkwood has had to be a leader in every facet of our game. Emily Perilli just continues to do her job and be steady and inspire others to be better."
With the win, the Cavaliers retain possession of the Commonwealth Challenge volleyball trophy for another year. Also, Virginia evened the overall score at a half point a piece.
Next up for the Cavaliers is a four-game road trip that kicks off Thursday night at Boston College.
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