Virginia volleyball is rolling through its season full steam ahead, as the Cavaliers 14-2, 4-1 ACC) took down Clemson on the road Friday evening. The Tigers (8-8, 0-5 ACC) are still winless in the ACC after being swept by a confident Virginia team, who won all three sets 25-20, 25-19 and 25-21.
Clemson kept each set close but could never put enough together to overcome the Cavaliers thanks to excellent performances from Virginia’s veterans. Junior middle blocker Kate Dean and senior outside hitter Elayna Duprey had 11 and 12 kills, respectively. Coupled with senior libero Milan Gomillion’s 18 digs that kept her team in business, the Tigers never stood a chance.
In the first set, the two teams traded points back and forth until sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Bowie’s attack put Virginia into a 3-2 lead. Normal play continued with senior blocker Abbey Tadder and freshman setter Zoey Dood making a key block, putting the Cavaliers up 11-7. Virginia continued building on its lead and Dood got another block to put the team up 22-16. While Clemson rallied at the very end and closed the score to 24-20, a kill by Duprey put the first set to rest, 25-20.
The second set remained tight throughout. At 8-8, Dean just was barely able to block an attack, giving Virginia the lead. Clemson tied the set once more at 10-10, but after a kill by senior outside hitter Brooklyn Borum, the Cavaliers never gave the lead back. They led 18-14 and staved off a Tigers comeback attempt to take the second set 25-19.
With Virginia now on fire, Duprey made a kill early on in the third set that stretched Virginia’s lead to 8-5. The two teams went back and forth after that, but like the rest of the night, Clemson could not get close enough to the Cavaliers. With a 24-21 lead, Dean put a cap on the night with a kill set up by senior setter Ashley Le. Virginia won the final set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
The victory marks Virginia volleyball’s third straight sweep against an ACC opponent and brings its ACC record to an impressive 4-1. If the Cavaliers can finish out the weekend with another win Sunday, they may find themselves with a rare appearance in the top 25 rankings.
Virginia will face No. 20 Georgia Tech Sunday at 1 p.m in Atlanta, Ga. The Cavaliers’ match will be available to watch on ACCNX.
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