Volleyball hosted Hofstra and Coastal Carolina in its own tournament, the Cavalier Classic, Friday and Saturday. Despite getting swept by the Chanticleers (2-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) 3-0 Friday, the Cavaliers (5-1, 0-0 ACC) won both matches Saturday, defeating the Pride (2-3, 0-0 CAA) 3-1 and exacting their revenge on Coastal Carolina, winning 3-2.
Game 1 — Virginia 0, Coastal Carolina 3 (12-15, 21-25, 18-25)
At the start of the first set, Virginia came out swinging — going up 4-0. However, after a timeout by Coastal Carolina, the momentum swung in the Chanticleer’s favor, tying the two at 5-5. Going back and forth, Carolina slowly built a lead off of Cavalier errors and lucky blocks.
Virginia attempted to regroup with a timeout, but the Chanticleers were already in full steam as they continued leading 20-10. More errors and more Carolina blocks eventually led to Virginia losing the set 25-12.
Having warmed up in the first set, Virginia looked better in the second set as they stayed with Coastal Carolina. After a four-point run by the Chanticleers, senior outside hitter Brooklyn Borum got a kill, regaining the initiative for her team. With that, the two teams stayed neck and neck with Coastal Carolina, with the score at 11-12.
Key blocks from senior middle blocker Abby Tadder and clutch digs from senior libero Milan Gomillion kept the Cavaliers in the fight, leading to a 17-17 tie halfway through the set. However, Virginia fell behind as the Chanticleers expanded their lead. After getting three points in a row — with Virginia up 24-19 — a serving error ended the set at 25-22, with Coastal Carolina leading the matchup 2-0.
Similarly to the second set, the third set stayed competitive. Each side traded blows as the score slowly grew. However, after the Chanticleers gained a four-point lead with the score 9-5, Virginia called a timeout to regroup.
Coastal Carolina continued to roll, going up 12-6. Two quick kills by sophomore middle blocker Lily Gervase teased a potential shift in momentum with the score at 13-8. Unfortunately, it was not enough as the Chanticleers went on to win the final set 18-25, taking the match.
Characterized by too many errors, the match left a bad taste in Virginia’s mouth. It was the small mistakes, not lack of ability and hard work, that made all the difference during the game. The Cavaliers knew that this had to change in order for their two matches tomorrow to not go the same way. Coach Shannon Wells knew exactly what would remedy the team after a loss like that.
“That’s what I love about this team,” Wells said. “We’ll get back and we’ll show some video tomorrow morning, we’ll come back and focus on Hofstra and then we’ll focus on Coastal, show some videos in areas we could have improved. We are a team that has struggled on unforced errors and that’s kind of been my motto since I’ve been here … It’s a learning point, that’s what preseason is for.”
Game 2 — Virginia 3, Hofstra 1 (25-14, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22)
Virginia played Hofstra for their first match on the second day of the tournament, and the Cavaliers immediately looked much cleaner.
Virginia and the Pride stayed close until a three-point tear by the Cavaliers put them up by six, prompting a Hofstra timeout with the score at 13-7. Senior outside hitter Elayna Duprey racked four kills, contributing to Virginia’s eight-point lead at 17-9.
Play went back and forth as the teams traded kills, leading to a 23-12 score. A kill by Borum set up the Cavaliers to win, and with an error from Hofstra, Virginia took the first set 25-14.
In the second set, neither team put together more than two points without an error, preventing any serious momentum to form. After a reversed call resulted in a Hofstra point, the Pride attempted a potential run down 14-10.
However, just the opposite happened. Led by Borum, Virginia regrouped and scored nine points to the Pride’s seven before Hofstra called a timeout. Now hot, the Cavaliers maintained their momentum and scored five more points, one coming from freshman right setter Becca Wight’s block. Duprey finished the set with a powerful kill, the final score of the second set 25-19 in favor of the Cavaliers.
In the third set, things did not go as well for Virginia — the errors from the previous match came up again. The match remained close up until it was 13-11, but Hofstra got hot in the second half, with two of its players scoring 11 points in the set. The Cavaliers struggled to recover and dropped the third set 25-17.
Like the three sets before it, the fourth set stayed close the entire time with great points from both sides showing how hard each was fighting for the lead. The two teams stayed even with the score 15-15, but a Cavalier kill, point and block gave Virginia all the lead they needed. Duprey secured the final two points for the 25-22 Cavalier win that gave them the match.
Game 3 — Virginia 3, Coastal Carolina 2 (25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-13)
Just one full day after its first match, Virginia and Coastal Carolina played again in the final match of the day. Throughout the entire tournament, the Cavaliers stayed composed yet energetic, not letting any errors or points shake their determination to earn this redemptive victory.
Firing off the rematch with a Cavalier point, the two teams stayed close in the beginning, pushing the score to 5-5. After two back-to-back aces by junior defensive specialist Kate Johnson, Virginia took the lead.
Excellent defense from Gomillon allowed the Cavaliers to dampen a Chanticleer comeback — halting them at 15-14. The score narrowed to 24-22, but sophomore outside hitter Lauren Bowie sealed the deal for the Virginia set win 25-22.
Just as all of the other matches had gone, both teams sustained a close score during the second and third set. Coastal Carolina was able to build a lead the entirety of the second set, and despite a great team effort by Virginia, the Chanticleers were able to claim a 25-21 win.
The score stayed tight throughout the third set until a point by the Cavaliers was overturned, resulting in the score being 20-16 — the largest lead Coastal Carolina had throughout the set. A long and impressive rally ended in a Chanticleer point, positioning them to win the set 24-19. They then closed off the third set with a kill, ending at 25-19.
With Virginia needing two sets to win and Coastal Carolina only needing one, Memorial Gymnasium slowly came alive with energy, the crowd now recognizing the role they could play in a potential Virginia win. Duprey got two points early in the fourth set, setting the tone for the set. Virginia earned four more — ignoring Coastal Carolina’s two. The Chanticleers closed in and tied the game 10-10, but a three in a row by the Cavaliers regained the initiative.
Virginia continued to steer the set and ended up winning 25-15. Borum, Tadder and freshman setter Zoey Dood all made key contributions to the Cavaliers’ second half stretch with kills of their own.
Erupting in cheers and chants, Memorial Gymnasium geared up for the final confrontation of the two teams in the fifth and final set — the fastest set of all since the two teams only go to 15 points to take the victory.
Virginia went up by three points early on thanks to Gomillon’s defense and kills from Borum and Bowie. The Cavaliers built their lead to 11-5, but a quick three points from Coastal Carolina quickly shrunk their advantage. A challenged call that stood resulted in a point for Virginia, bringing the win closer as the score was 13-11. A final effort by the Chanticleers scared the Cavaliers into a final timeout.
With an electric atmosphere, Tadder ended the night with a kill, stealing the fifth set 15-13 and sending Coastal Carolina home. Wells was proud of how hard all players worked throughout all three matches but especially the rematch against the Chanticleers.
“Kudos to our team, I’m just really proud of them,” Wells said. “We had to have different people coming in ... And kudos to the crowd, I think that’s a big thing. When you play at home you really want to have the advantage …They helped us win this match tonight.”
With their wins over Coastal Carolina and Hofstra, Virginia is coming out of the preseason tested and ready for the regular season. The next set of matches will be at the Liberty Tournament, with play opening Thursday against Eastern Tennessee State and continuing Friday, where the Cavaliers will face West Virginia and Liberty.
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