The Virginia volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to rival Virginia Tech over the weekend, with both matches ending by a score of 3-1.
Game 1
The Cavaliers (1-3, 0-3 ACC) began the weekend with a Friday night match against the Hokies (4-1, 3-1 ACC) at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. It was a tight match, as all four sets were decided by two points. The final score read 27-25, 29-31, 25-23, 26-24 in favor of the Hokies.
Virginia began the match well and jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first set, but Virginia Tech slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually took the lead at 16-15 after four consecutive errors from the Cavaliers. The teams would go on to trade points for the rest of the set. Virginia had two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but the Hokies saved both and took advantage of three consecutive attack errors from the Cavaliers to steal the first set.
Virginia had another strong start to the second set and it looked as if it would easily take the set after building an 18-11 lead. However, the Hokies battled back and cut the deficit to 23-22 late in the set. Nonetheless, freshman middle blocker Laila Rogers recorded a kill to give the Cavaliers two set points. The Hokies saved both though, taking advantage of a Virginia attack error to take a 25-24 lead. The two teams continued to trade points until kills from senior outside hitter Christine Jarman and Rogers allowed the Cavaliers to take the marathon second set by a score of 31-29.
In the third set, Virginia took the early advantage once again, this time taking an 8-5 lead. Virginia Tech gave yet another strong response and evened up the match at 16-16. The Cavaliers responded with a 4-1 run to regain the edge, but the Hokies closed the set on an 8-3 run to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Hokies carried that late momentum into the fourth set, building a 13-7 lead. However, Virginia was able to battle back and took a 22-21 lead after a kill from senior outside hitter Sarah Billiard. The Hokies responded with three consecutive points to take a 24-22 lead, but Virginia saved both match points after a Virginia Tech service error and an ace from junior libero Kristen Leland. Despite the comeback, the Hokies won the last two points to take the set and the match by a score of 3-1.
Sophomore outside hitter Grace Turner led the Cavaliers with 14 kills and Billiard added ten of her own. Senior setter Megan Wilson and senior libero Alex Spencer led Virginia with 32 assists and 17 digs, respectively. As a team, the Cavaliers committed 32 errors.
“I don’t think either team played their best volleyball,” Coach Aaron Smith said. “I definitely think we could have been better — it was a very high-error match for us … We’re down some people, but we were ready to play tonight and didn’t show up in the moments we needed to.
Game 2
The two teams returned to action two days later with a Sunday afternoon clash once again at Cassell Coliseum. Virginia Tech also won this match 3-1, with the final score reading 25-21, 25-15, 18-25, 25-22 in favor of the Hokies.
The teams traded points to open the match, but at 7-7, Virginia Tech went on a 11-4 run to open up a seven-point lead. Virginia scored three consecutive points to cut the deficit to 18-14, but Virginia Tech answered with three points to restore its comfortable lead. The Cavaliers responded once again and took advantage of three attack errors from the Hokies in the midst of a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 21-19. Recognizing the Virginia advantage, Virginia Tech called a timeout to regroup and subsequently won four of the final six points in the set to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set was also competitive early on, as neither team could gain a significant advantage. However, with the score reading 8-8, Virginia Tech went on a 14-4 run to pull away from Virginia. The Cavaliers won the next two points to get within single-digits at 22-14, but the Hokies closed the set out on a 3-1 run to extend their lead to 2-0.
Facing a two-set deficit, Virginia came out playing with urgency in the third set and raced out to a 7-2 lead. Virginia Tech was able to cut into the lead and make the score 8-6, but Virginia went on an 8-3 run to reclaim its big lead. The Hokies were never able to reduce the gap to less than five points for the remainder of the set and the Cavaliers took the third set to stay alive in the match.
The fourth set was tight throughout, as neither team could build more than a four-point lead. Virginia was down 20-17 late in the set, but two attack errors from Virginia Tech and a key block from Billiard and sophomore middle blocker Mattison Matthews tied the match up at 20-20. Despite the rally, Virginia Tech won five of the final seven points to take the set and the match.
Billiard and sophomore outside hitter Jayna Francis led the Cavaliers with 12 kills apiece. Wilson finished with 28 assists and Spencer contributed a career-high 27 digs.
Virginia returns to action next weekend with a pair of matches against NC State. The first game will take place Friday night at 4 p.m. and the teams will play again the following day at 6:30 p.m. Both matches will take place at Memorial Gymnasium.
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