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Sept. 20, 2003
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Virginia volleyball team set a school record with a .489 hitting percentage in a 3-0 (30-18, 30-19, 30-11) victory over Gardner-Webb Saturday (September 20) in the National Invitational at Belk Arena. With the victory, UVa improves to 3-0 in the tournament and can clinch its fourth tournament title of the season with a win over host Davidson at 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening. The victory also pushed UVa’s program-best winning streak to 15 matches in the team’s silver anniversary season.
The Cavaliers hit a remarkable .489 against Gardner-Webb with 53 kills and only seven errors on 94 attempts. The previous school mark for hitting percentage in a match was .487 (42 kills, 5 errors, 76 attempts) against Liberty on September 19, 1995. Fourth-year outside hitter Paige Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) led the way with 13 kills and a .667 hitting percentage. Fourth-year middle Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) notched nine kills and had a .571 hitting percentage. Third-year middle Alexis Geocaris (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and second-year outside hitter Kristin Chaney (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) both had eight kills and two service aces with Geocaris also adding five blocks. The foursome combined for an amazing .614 hitting percentage (38 kills, 3 errors, 57 attempts).
Fourth-year libero Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) led Virginia’s defensive effort with 15 digs, while first-year outside hitter Emily Perilli (Thompson’s Station, Tenn./Page) had eight digs. First-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) posted 27 assists, four service aces and four digs.
Deshay Duddy led Gardner-Webb (5-12) with eight kills and a .312 hitting percentage. Lauren Hughes contributed seven kills, while Carrie Brinkley handed out 26 assists.
In addition to hitting .489, the Cavaliers limited Gardner-Webb to a .104 hitting percentage. UVa held a 53-28 edge in kills and a 43-20 advantage in digs. Virginia also held margins of 11-2 in service aces and 8-1 in team blocks.