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Oct. 21, 2003
DURHAM, N.C. – The Virginia volleyball team notched a 3-0 (30-24, 30-19, 30-23) victory over Duke Tuesday evening (October 21) at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Cavaliers’ first regular season sweep over the Blue Devils since the 1999 season. Fourth-year outside hitter Paige Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and fourth-year middle Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) combined for 26 kills and a .411 hitting percentage in leading UVa to the win. Virginia now stands at 20-5 overall and 4-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Duke drops to 7-14 overall and 3-6 in the ACC.
Earlier this season, the Cavaliers snapped a six-match losing streak to Duke with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory on September 27. With tonight’s win, UVa reached the 20-win total for the first time since 1998 when the team was 26-8.
Davis had a match-high 16 kills and hit .400 in the contest and added three block assists. Boyle hit .429 with 10 kills and also contributed three block assists and three digs. Third-year middle Alexis Geocaris (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) joined Davis and Boyle in reaching the .400 mark in hitting, as she recorded a match-best .455 hitting percentage with six kills and only one error on 11 swings. Geocaris also led all players with seven blocks and added four digs. Third-year outside hitter Celeste Laborde (New Orleans, La./Academy of the Sacred Heart) totaled eight kills and four block assists.
First-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) registered her fifth double-double of the season with 25 assists and 10 digs. First-year setter Kathleen Branagh (Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo) handed out 21 assists to go along with three digs. Fourth-year All-ACC libero Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) led four Cavaliers in double digits in digs with 18. First-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Rosharon, Texas/Elkins) was the third UVa player to reach double figures in digs with 17, while first-year outside hitter Emily Perilli (Thompson’s Station, Tenn./Page) posted a career-high 13 digs. Osco and Perilli both also tallied six kills and two service aces.
Tealle Hunkus led Duke with 11 kills, while Krista Dill notched nine kills. Setter Arielle Linderman recorded a double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs. Stephanie Istvan led all players with 19 digs.
The Cavaliers hit .250 in the match with 52 kills, while Duke managed only a .093 hitting percentage with 40 kills. UVa also held a 71-61 edge in digs. Virginia also held slight 6-4 and 10-9 advantages in service aces and team blocks, respectively.
Virginia returns to action on Sunday, October 26 when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. for a 6:00 p.m. match against Wake Forest.