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Oct. 29, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia volleyball team registered a season-high .404 hitting percentage in recording a 3-0 (30-18, 30-25, 30-22) victory over NC State Saturday (October 29) at Memorial Gym. The win marked UVa’s 21st consecutive victory over the Wolfpack dating back to 1996. With the win, the Cavaliers snap a two-match slide and improve to 14-8 overall and 9-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. NC State drops to 7-14 overall and 1-12 in the ACC.
The Cavaliers slammed 54 kills with just 10 errors on 109 attempts for their season-best .404 hitting percentage. The previous season-best hitting percentage for UVa was .389 against Appalachian State on September 16.
Second-year outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) paced Virginia’s offense with a match-high 18 kills and five service aces. Kirkwood hit an impressive .516 in the contest and added five digs and three blocks. With her five aces, Kirkwood improved her season total to 51 to move into 10th place on UVa’s single season service aces list. First-year middle Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas/Westlake) posted a match and career-high .615 hitting percentage as she tallied eight kills with no errors on 13 attempts. Davis also had three blocks. Second-year middle Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va./Evangel Christian School) slammed 11 kills while hitting .364. Third-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Houston, Texas/Elkins) also had an excellent match as she knocked down 10 kills while hitting .348. Osco also had three digs and two service aces.
Third-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) dished out 45 assists for an average of 15.0 per game. She also served up four aces and had three digs and two kills. Second-year libero Melissa Caldwell (Houston, Texas/Stratford) led UVa’s defensive effort with 12 digs, while second-year outside hitter Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursula Academy) registered 10 digs and added five kills and two assists.
Casey Wyatt led NC State with nine kills, while Stefani Eddins and Adeola Kosoko both tallied eight kills. Eddins also registered a .533 hitting percentage. Setters Lyssa Ramirez and Melissa Rabe had 15 and 14 assists, respectively.
Virginia out-hit the Wolfpack .404 to .212 and limited NC State to 38 kills in the match. UVa also led a big 12-2 edge in service aces and a 4-2 advantage in team blocks. NC State held a slight 38-37 edge in digs.
Sarah Kirkwood tallied nine kills and Caldwell had seven digs in UVa’s 30-18 win in game one. The Cavaliers had 23 kills while hitting .488 in the first frame. Sarah Kirkwood had four aces and four kills in Virginia’s 30-25 win in game two. Osco and Davis added five and four kills, respectively, in the second game. The Cavaliers continued their hot hitting with a .481 percentage in a 30-22 win in the third game. Oakes and Kirkwood both had five kills in the third and final game, while Osco added four.
The Cavaliers return to action on Tuesday (November 1) when they continue the Commonwealth Challenge against Virginia Tech with a 7:00 p.m. match in Blacksburg, Va. UVa earned a half a point with a 3-0 win in the first meeting of the season on October 4.