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Sept. 27, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After suffering its first loss of the season Friday night, the Virginia volleyball team bounced back for a come-from-behind 3-2 (26-30, 30-24, 28-30, 30-26, 15-7) victory over Duke Saturday afternoon (September 27) at Memorial Gym. With the win, UVa improves to 17-1 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils fall to 4-10 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
Virginia received a balanced offensive effort in the win as a season-high five players reached double figures in kills. Fourth-year outside hitter Paige Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) led the ‘Hoos with 16 kills, including 10 in the fourth game. She added six digs and five blocks as well. Fourth-year middle Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) knocked down 14 kills and tied Davis for match-high honors in blocks with five. Third-year middle Alexis Geocaris (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) tallied a team-best .393 hitting percentage while posting 13 kills. She also added five digs and four blocks. Second-year outside hitter Kristin Chaney (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) notched her second consecutive double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs, while third-year outside hitter Celeste Laborde (New Orleans, La./Academy of the Sacred Heart) also notched 10 kills.
Fourth-year All-ACC libero Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) recorded a match-high 26 digs and also added a pair of kills. First-year setters Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) and Kathleen Branagh (Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo) combined for 54 assists. Kirkwood tallied 31 assists to go along with eight digs and three service aces. Branagh had 23 assists and a career-high 10 digs to notch the first double-double of her career. Branagh also registered two kills and one ace. First-year outside hitter Emily Perilli (Thompson’s Station, Tenn./Page) was the fourth UVa player to reach double figures in digs with 10.
For Duke, Nana Meriwether registered a match-high 18 kills, while Tassy Rufai posted a double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs. Sarah Salem also notched a double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs. Setter Arielle Linderman handed out 32 assists and added nine digs and five kills.
The Cavaliers lost the first game 30-26, but tied the match at one game apiece with a 30-24 win in game two. Duke won the third game 30-28 to take a 2-1 lead. Virginia tied the match at 2-2 with a 30-26 win in the fourth game. UVa pulled out its first ACC victory over the young season with a 15-7 triumph in the fifth and deciding game.
Virginia hit .246 in the match while the Blue Devils tallied a .226 hitting percentage. Duke had 73 kills to UVa’s 70. The Cavaliers held an 86-81 edge in digs and well as a 9-6 advantage in blocks. Both teams served up seven aces.
The Cavaliers return to action on Friday, October 3 when they travel to Clemson, S.C. for a 7:00 p.m. match against the Tigers of Clemson.