/
.
Virginia Volleyball Notches 3-1 Win Over Clemson
Story Links
Oct. 20, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Third-year outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla.) slammed a team-high 22 kills to help the Virginia volleyball team win the final three games for a hard-fought 3-1 (26-30, 30-22, 30-26, 34-32) victory over Clemson Friday (Oct. 20) at Memorial Gym. With the win, the Cavaliers improve to 14-6 overall and 7-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and snap Clemson’s eight-match winning streak. Clemson now stands at 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the ACC.
Kirkwood tallied 21 of her 22 kills in the final three games, all of which were UVa wins. She also hit a team-best .314 and added seven digs, four assists and one block. First-year outside hitter Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas) registered her fourth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 15 digs. Dickson also equaled her career high with four blocks and added a pair of service aces. Third-year middle Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va.) tallied 11 kills and six blocks, while second-year middle Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas) posted nine kills and a team-best seven blocks, including two solo stuffs. Fourth-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Houston, Texas) contributed seven kills, four digs, three blocks, two assists and two aces to UVa’s winning effort.
Fourth-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla.) dished out a match-high 57 assists and also added seven digs, two kills, two blocks and an ace. Third-year libero Melissa Caldwell (Houston, Texas) had 15 digs to share team-high honors with Dickson. Third-year defensive specialist Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 13 digs and tied for match-high honors in service aces with four. Fourth-year defensive specialist Emily Perilli (Thompson’s Station, Tenn.) was the fourth UVa player to reach double figures in digs as she had 10.
Jeannette Abbott led Clemson with 24 kills, 14 digs, four blocks and four service aces. Meghan Steiner tallied 10 kills, four blocks and four digs. Kelsey Murphy handed out 38 assists and added 16 digs, while Didem Ege led all players with 19 digs.
The Cavaliers had a 69-50 edge in kills and also out-hit Clemson .171 to .104. Clemson and UVa entered the match as the top two blocking teams in the ACC and both registered 13 blocks in the match. Both teams also had nine service aces, while the Tigers held a 78-71 advantage in digs.
Clemson jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 30-26 victory in the first game. The Tigers hit .242 in the first game while UVa hit only .091 with 11 errors. Virginia tied the match at 1-1 with a 30-22 win in the second game. Sarah Kirkwood tallied seven kills while helping UVa hit .316 with only two attack errors. The Tigers had 12 attack errors in the second game, five of which were Cavalier blocks. Dickson and Kirkwood combined for 13 of Virginia’s 19 kills in a 30-26 win in game three. In the fourth game, Kirkwood recorded eight kills in a 34-32 victory that clinched the match for the Cavaliers. UVa took an early lead in the fourth game, but Clemson battled back and led 20-18. UVa scored five straight points to go on top 23-20, but the Tigers came back to take a 29-27 lead. A Clemson attack error and a Shelton ace tied the game at 29-29. With the scored tied at 32-32, back-to-back kills by Dickson and Kirkwood sealed the victory for Virginia.
The Cavaliers wrap up their four-match homestand on Saturday (Oct. 21) when they host Georgia Tech at 5:00 p.m. at Memorial Gym.