In what, at first sight, appeared to be a typical home match for Virginia volleyball — the same opening warmup playlist, the same familiar tossing of small foam volleyballs into the stands after announcing the starting lineup, the same dedicated fanbase — the Cavaliers (21-11, 11-9 ACC) played what was far from a typical contest. Facing off against Saint John’s in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, Virginia hosted a match in a postseason national tournament for the first time in program history Sunday night.
However, the Cavaliers struggled against the Red Storm (22-12, 10-8 Big East), falling 3-1 in Memorial Gymnasium. It marked a bitter end to a historic season, one that boasted the Cavaliers’ best record since 2006 and their first national tournament appearance in 25 years.
Despite falling short of achieving what would have been the first non-ACC Tournament postseason win in program history, the Cavaliers will leave the season with their heads held high, according to Coach Shannon Wells.
“One match doesn’t make our season, it doesn’t break our season,” Wells said. “This has been unbelievable for our program, and we’re just extremely grateful for our seniors who put us in this position where U.Va. volleyball is playing in December.”
The program has certainly been led by a strong class of seniors, who continued to demonstrate their impact through Sunday’s match. Five of the seven starters were seniors, and senior setter Ashley Le was the only Cavalier atop one of the night’s statistical categories, leading the match with a hitting percentage of .500. Saint John’s led the way in kills, attacks, digs, assists, blocks and overall points, a testament to the Red Storm’s dominance.
Saint John’s took advantage of a frazzled Cavalier team in the first set, gaining a slight lead early. As Virginia settled in, it found some momentum with kills from senior outside hitter Elayna Duprey, threatening the Red Storm’s lead. But the Cavaliers were unable to stop a final push from Saint John’s, dropping the first set 25-21.
Now settled in, Virginia took off with a slight lead in the opening third of the second set. But once again, Saint John’s battled back to tie the score and eventually capture its second straight set.
Three kills in a row from senior outside hitter Giorgia Walther closed out the second set for the Red Storm at 27-25. Walther was a force the Cavaliers struggled to stop throughout the first pair of sets — she recorded 16 kills between the two.
With the match and the season on the line, Virginia entered the third set with a frantic style of play similar to the first, quickly falling behind 7-2. However, as they settled in, the Cavaliers fought their way back. Notable kills from senior middle blocker Abby Tadder and senior outside hitter Brooklyn Borum carried Virginia to a 25-23 set victory.
This fight to extend the game to a fourth set was nothing out of the ordinary for the Cavaliers. Facing off against competitive ACC opponents in the regular season, Virginia was prepared to put up a fight in the fourth set.
“We’ve seen that all along,” Wells said. “There’s not very many situations that this team hasn’t worked through this year … So I’m not surprised by the way our team came back [in the third set]. That’s what we do, and we see it year in and year out.”
The Cavaliers, however, were unable to push the match to a deciding set. Virginia faltered in the fourth set, despite forcing various lead changes. After taking a timeout at 16-16, Saint John’s pulled ahead. The Red Storm ended the set with three unanswered points, defeating Virginia 25-20.
Though the postseason run proved unsuccessful, Wells remained intent on recognizing the impact that even just an appearance in the NIVC has on the volleyball program. Playing against Saint John’s counted as the first postseason experience for the vast majority of the team, and it marks a turning point for a program that has historically struggled.
“We’re going to learn from this experience,” Wells said. “We’re just really thankful for this season. It’s hard to swallow. We’ll be more motivated … But I think we just want to take some time to feel really grateful for the season.”
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