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Volleyball bounces back, defeats California in four sets on the road

The Cavaliers picked up their 20th win of the season as they enter their final week of regular-season play

<p>Virginia continues to make its case for an NCAA Tournament bid.</p>

Virginia continues to make its case for an NCAA Tournament bid.

In the aftermath of this year’s NCAA conference realignment that saw both Stanford and California join the ACC, Virginia volleyball took a mid-week trip to the west coast to face off against its new conference foes. Both matchups marked only the second time in program history that Virginia had played against the No. 7 Cardinal (21-4, 13-3 ACC) and the Golden Bears (12-15, 4-11 ACC).

Suffering a tough loss Thursday night against Stanford, the Cavaliers (20-7, 10-6 ACC) entered their matchup against California Friday night in Berkeley, Calif., in hopes of leaving the west coast with one win. Virginia did just that, defeating California in four sets.

A senior trio of outside hitter Brooklyn Borum, outside hitter Elayna Duprey and middle blocker Abby Tadder all produced double-digit kills to help the Cavaliers take down the Golden Bears. Virginia amassed 18 blocks as a team to just 10 for California, a big margin that certainly played a role in the win for Coach Shannon Wells’ team.

On the other side of the net, Wells and company were challenged throughout the game by sophomore outside hitter Maggie Li, the Golden Bears’ volleyball phenom from Beijing. Last year, Li was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year six times, and Friday night’s game was nothing out of the ordinary for her — she led the game with 24 kills.

Li opened the first set with a kill, kickstarting the Golden Bears into an early 3-0 lead. California continued to extend this lead, as another three-point scoring run eventually forced Virginia to take a timeout as they trailed 10-5. 

This timeout could not shake the Golden Bears. Various Cavalier errors in addition to kills on California’s end forced yet another Virginia timeout as the score moved to a daunting 16-9. 

Three kills in a row from Duprey followed, indicating that there might still be some room for the Cavaliers to make a comeback. Borum also notched a kill and cut the Golden Bears’ lead to 18-15, forcing them to take their first timeout. 

However, the cushion California had built from the beginning of the set gave Virginia trouble in its continued efforts to threaten the Golden Bears’ lead. The hosts charged to the end of the set, scoring five unanswered points to finish the set with a commanding 25-18 victory.

The second set picked up where the first left off — the Golden Bears forced an early timeout from the Cavaliers after running out to a 5-1 advantage. Following this timeout, Virginia steadily challenged California’s lead. A kill from freshman setter Zoey Dood and a series of errors brought the score to a tie at 5-5, which forced California to take a timeout of its own.

The Cavaliers continued racking up points in a 7-0 run featuring kills from Duprey and a service ace from junior defensive specialist Kate Johnson. But the momentum did not stick with Virginia for long. The Golden Bears responded with their own trio of points, erasing the Cavaliers’ lead. 

A battle ensued for the next few rallies, but Virginia soon found a way to pull ahead again thanks to a block and kill from Tadder, who brought the lead to 18-15 before California took a timeout. Even a yellow card — a delay warning awarded to the Cavalier bench for their celebration after Duprey notched a kill at 21-17 — did not stop Virginia from eventually winning the second set 25-20.

Moving into the third set, the Cavaliers seemed determined to avoid having to claw their way back to a lead as they had done in the second set. Virginia quickly pulled away from the Golden Bears 5-2 thanks to kills from Duprey and Tadder.

The Cavaliers continued taking advantage of attacking and service errors from California, but a service ace scored by the Golden Bears brought the score to 15-15. California continued to capitalize on the Cavaliers’ own errors. Virginia called a timeout trailing 18-17. 

The Cavaliers responded with an all-out team effort featuring kills from Duprey, Borum and sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Bowie to tie the score. California pushed back, however, taking a dangerous 24-22 lead thanks to strong efforts from Li.

What followed was pure grit and determination from the Cavaliers — three kills in a row pushed Virginia into a 25-24 advantage, and the visitors finished the set with one final push, taking the victory 26-24.

As the Cavaliers looked to take home a win in the fourth set, California made an attempt to extend the game to a fifth set. The set opened with multiple lead changes and ties. 

Back-to-back kills from Tadder late into the set showed the first sign of either team breaking away from this tight score. Virginia led 17-13 as California took a timeout. This Cavalier kill streak continued post-timeout and Virginia extended its lead to six points at 20-14, forcing the Golden Bears to take another timeout.

Errors characterized the rest of the set, rather than the offensive prowess Virginia had just displayed. Virginia marched to its first match point, leading 24-16 after two California errors. The Cavaliers finished the set 25-17 with a kill from Borum, marking the end of the game. 

The Golden Bears currently sit in the bottom quarter of the ACC women’s volleyball rankings. A win against California might not be of much help to the Cavaliers in their journey to the top 25 rankings, but a loss certainly would have hurt Virginia. 

This win on the road should also help boost the confidence of the Cavaliers as they prepare to take on No. 3 Louisville at home. The Cardinals are ranked second in the ACC, led by senior libero Elena Scott. Scott was recently named one of 14 national semifinalists for the 2024 Division I Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Her defensive prowess is sure to challenge Virginia’s offensive hitters.

The Cavaliers will look to take down Louisville Friday at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium. The game can be streamed on ACCNX.

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