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Cavaliers Fall in Three to Begin ACC Play
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BLACKSBURG, Va. The Virginia volleyball team rallied to force extra points throughout two sets of its match at Virginia Tech on Tuesday evening, but it was the Hokies that prevailed, handing the Cavaliers their third straight loss in Cassell Coliseum, 0-3 (25-27, 11-25, 24-26).
Virginia (8-5, 0-1 ACC) hit .038 for the match, while arch-rival Virginia Tech (10-2, 1-0 ACC) hit .238. The Cavaliers were out-hit, 42-24 in kills and out-blocked, 14-5.
Fourth-year Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas) led Virginia’s attack, hitting .294 with seven kills. Third-year Brittani Rendina (Lisle, Ill.) collected 12 digs and second-year Sydney Hill (Austin, Texas) collected three blocks.
Second-year Kelly Irvin (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) dished out 11 assists, while fourth-year Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville, Minn.) distributed 10.
For the Hokies, Felicia Willoughby blocked a match-high nine attacks. Taylor Parrish and Justine Record led the attack with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, and Erin Leaser dished out 37 assists.
Virginia Tech controlled the early part of the opening set, taking a 5-1 lead, forcing the Cavaliers to use their first timeout. The Hokies held on to the lead following the intermission before five-straight points for Virginia gave the Cavaliers their first lead at 9-8.
The rest of the match was neck-in-neck as the two squads evened the score 10 times, trading leads four times. The Cavaliers had a set-point opportunity at 24-22, but a kill and block from Tech evened the score at 24. A Hokies attack error gave Virginia it’s second set-point opportunity, but Tech responded with a kill to even the frame at 25. A kill from Willoughby then gave the Hokies their first lead, at 26-25, since midway through the frame. A block from Willoughby and Leaser then ended the stanza with the Hokies on top, 27-25.
Virginia Tech carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to an 18-8 lead, thanks to a 7-0 run. The Cavaliers struggled to regroup, as they hit -.054 for the set, while the Hokies hit a match-best .310, en route to a 25-11 victory.
Set three was much closer, as there were 13 tie scores and eight lead changes, but it was the Hokies that held the lead late in the frame. Down 14-20, Davis sparked a 10-4 run for the Cavaliers, landing back-to-back kills, before Asque finished off the rally with a kill and a block to even the score at 24 all.
The Hokies responded with a kill, before a block from Willoughby and Record secured the match win for Virginia Tech, at 26-24.
Virginia will look to rebound this weekend, hosting Georgia Tech (Fri.) and Clemson (Sat.) at Memorial Gymnasium. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.