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COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Led by career-best defensive performances from third-year Lauren Dickson and second-years Sydney Hill and Kelly Irvin, the Virginia volleyball team defeated Maryland, 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-16, 25-19) in the Comcast Pavilion Saturday evening to extend its win streak to two straight over conference opponents. The win brings the Cavaliers their 500th program victory.
The Cavaliers (10-7, 2-3 ACC), hitting .165 for the match, held the Terrapins to a .098 clip as a team, by collecting 84 digs and 12 blocks, compared to Maryland’s 77 digs and nine blocks.
Dickson (Austin, Texas) paced Virginia with her fourth-straight double-double, landing a match-high 15 kills and tied a career-high with 21 digs. Dickson also blocked five attacks.
Irvin (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) collected her second double-double this season, dishing out a match-high 25 assists with a season-high 15 digs. At the net, Hill blocked a career-high 10 attacks.
Adding to the defensive effort, third-year Brittani Rendina (Lisle, Ill.) collected 16 digs.
Second-year Kendahl Voelker (Fort Myers, Fla.) landed 12 kills and blocked six attacks, while fourth-year Marlow Bruneau (Lakeville, Minn.) dished out 19 assists. Second-year A.J. Cushman (Richmond, Va.) landed a match-high three service aces and dug nine attacks.
For Maryland, Lisa Scott led with 10 kills and Bethany Springer had 19 digs. Sharon Strizak dished out 18 assists and Tedi Doucet had 12 helpers.
After hanging tough in the early portion of the opening set, a block from Hill and Voelker sparked a 6-0 run for the Cavaliers that ultimately gave Virginia its first lead of the frame. The second-year duo combined to block an attack with Virginia down 9-10 and combined for back-to-back blocks after a Terrapin attack error to put the Cavaliers up 12-10. Another attack error on Maryland and a kill from Asque capped off the run with Virginia holding its largest lead, at 14-10.
The Cavaliers held on to the lead until a series of errors let the Terrapins knot the score at 17. Davis landed a kill to make the score 18-17 and Maryland would go on to even the score again by 20, and at every point until 24. An attack error would eventually doom the Terps, and Asque put the set out of reach for Maryland, landing a kill to put Virginia on top, 26-24.
Set two featured 10 tie scores, but only three lead changes. With an even 18-18 score, three-straight Cavalier errors gave Maryland the momentum, and the Terrapins went on to score seven of the final eight points for a 25-19 victory.
Virginia jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third frame and never looked back. The Cavaliers used a 7-2 run midway through the stanza to pull ahead 21-13 and held on to the momentum, en route to a 25-16 set win.
The Cavaliers carried the momentum through the fourth frame using a powerful attack, hitting .324 for the set, while the defense held the Terps to a .125 clip. Led by fifth-year Beth Shelton, who landed seven kills on 10 attempts and hit .600 for the set, the Cavaliers held off a late rally of Maryland’s and picked up a 25-19 victory.
Virginia will head south for its next two contests, to conclude a four-match road tilt. The Cavaliers will face North Carolina on Friday, Oct. 10 in Chapel Hill, N.C., at 7 p.m., before facing NC State on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Raleigh, N.C. Match time is slated for 6 p.m. with the Wolfpack.