After months of training and preparation, Virginia opened its 2024 season at Old Dominion’s annual Quest for the Crown tournament, located in Norfolk. The Cavaliers (3-0, 0-0 ACC) were able to prove just how hard they worked in the offseason with a clean sweep of the competition — defeating Marist 25-9, 25-12 and 25-13 Friday afternoon and building momentum to defeat William and Mary 25-15, 25-20 and 25-14 plus Old Dominion 26-24, 26-24 and 25-19 Saturday.
Game 1 — Virginia 3, Marist 0 (25-9, 25-12, 25-13)
With this being Virginia’s fourth season under Coach Shannon Wells — and the recent addition of four freshman athletes and three transfers — the Quest for the Crown tournament was the perfect opportunity for Virginia to reveal its new, and lethal, starting lineup when facing Marist (0-3, 0-0 MAAC) in its first game of the season.
The first set started with both teams getting adjusted to the heat of the game. It did not take long for the Cavaliers to be warmed up and get on the offense, scoring seven consecutive points to make the score 8-2. The Red Foxes would try and close the gap in the hopes of taking the lead and winning the first set, but they were never able to get under a five-point difference.
With Virginia on fire, they continued to widen the gap and completely take the reins in the first set, winning 25-9. Multiple Cavaliers — senior middle blocker Abby Tadder, senior outside hitter Brooklyn Borum, freshman setter Zoey Dood and senior outside hitter Elayna Duprey — successfully had a couple of kills in the first set. Paired with 10 attack errors from Marist, Virginia’s competition did not stand a chance.
The second set started with a beautiful ace from senior setter Ashley Le and carried forward the momentum from the first set, pushing the score up to 10-1. The Red Foxes used their timeouts periodically in the first half of the second set in the hopes of slowing down the Cavaliers, but they were unsuccessful.
Duprey was a key performer in the second set, executing four kills and propelling the Cavaliers to victory in the second set, winning 25-12 to make the overall set score 2-0.
The third set went similarly to the first two sets, except Virginia never trailed and did not let a single serve ace get through the back row in the final set. The Cavaliers had their first win of the season when the third set was won 25-13. Now full of excitement, Virginia rested up and planned to keep this success going when it faced its next two opponents the next day.
Game 2 — Virginia 3, William and Mary 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-14)
The Cavaliers returned to the ODU Volleyball Center Saturday to prepare for their matchup against William and Mary (1-1, 0-0 CAA) at 1 p.m. Knowing that they had to perform well enough to win the game but could not expend too much energy before their faceoff later in the evening, the team knew they were in for a challenge.
The first set went back and forth between the two teams before Virginia jumped ahead with four straight points that carried it to a 7-2 lead. In their first nine attacks of the match, the Cavaliers were able to execute seven kills. Never giving the Tribe a chance to catch up, Virginia won the first set 25-15.
In the second set, though, William and Mary was warmed up and was not letting Virginia pull ahead as easily. Every time the Cavaliers tried to take the lead, the Tribe would tie the match back up. This happened four times before junior middleback Kate Dean and Duprey said enough is enough and executed a strong block and a swift kill that put Virginia in the lead 12-10 and kept them there.
The gap stayed relatively close for most of the second set, but the Cavaliers remained cool and collected — keeping them ahead. A kill by senior outside hitter Brooklyn Borum ended the second set with a 25-20 win, and Virginia understood it would need to attack harder in the third set to ensure its victory.
William and Mary had the same idea in mind, though, and initially took the lead 4-2 in the third set. A kill from Tadder and Borum each tied up the score, and a service ace by junior defensive specialist Kate Johnson allowed the Cavaliers to take the lead and go on a nine-point run that shut down the Tribe.
It was easy for Virginia to keep the gap wide, never letting it get smaller than seven points. Gomillion closed out the game with a few serves that led to a kill by Tadder and attack error by William and Mary, giving the Cavaliers their second win of the season.
Game 3 — Virginia 3, Old Dominion 0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-19)
After two intense games, Virginia understood that this last match would be the hardest of them all, due to both the fatigue from the tournament so far and the skillset of their opponents, Old Dominion (2-1, 0-0 CAA).
The first set was extremely close — neither team could get ahead of the other, so both sides were giving it their all in the hopes of edging out the other to win the first set. Duprey was key to keeping the Cavaliers slightly on top of the competition, with kills that gave Virginia the lead, set point and first set victory. Gomillion also exemplified a never-give-up spirit that kept the ball in play, throwing herself across the court if it meant getting the set point for the team.
The second set was similar to the first set, with the Monarchs initially leading by two before Virginia turned it around to take the lead by two as well. The Cavaliers held on and managed to build a four-point lead 18-14, but Old Dominion fought back and tied up the score 19-19.
Yet again, both teams were left to fight until the final point — with Tadder executing a kill to put Virginia back in the lead. Duprey and Dean did not tire either and together blocked an attack to win the second set 26-24.
The Monarchs fought hard in the beginning of the third set — angered after having been edged out in the first two sets — and took the lead 6-1, but the Cavaliers refused to let Old Dominion simply pull ahead. They grappled with the Monarchs and tied the score 9-9, putting themselves back in the game.
A kill by Tadder gave Virginia the lead that it never let go of, and two kills by Borum and Dood each secured the final set 25-19 — making the Cavaliers the champions of the Quest for the Crown Tournament.
Each player put themselves on the line to help get Virginia each victory. Duprey logged 20 kills against the Monarchs — a career-high and the most kills in a three-setter for a Cavalier since 2013. Freshman Becca Wight led the team with 11 kills against William and Mary, and Gomillion had 41 total digs.
Virginia will be returning home to host a tournament of its own at the Memorial Gymnasium in Charlottesville — the Cavalier Classic. Play starts Friday and goes through until Saturday, and the Cavaliers will be hosting Coastal Carolina and Hofstra for their first home matches of the season.
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