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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team used an all-around solid performance to snap a four-match losing skid and avenge a loss earlier this season to NC State, sweeping the Wolfpack, 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-18), Saturday evening in Memorial Gymnasium. The win bumps the Cavaliers back over the .500 mark with a 14-13 overall record, 6-9 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while NC State falls to 9-21 on the season and 3-12 in the league.
Fifth-year Beth Shelton (Cincinnati, Ohio) dominated the match, tying a career-high 19 kills, while hitting a season-best .417. Shelton also collected nine digs.
First-year Simone Asque (Chicago, Ill.) and fourth-year Shannon Davis (Austin, Tex.) also contributed to the attack efforts. Asque landed 12 kills and Davis hit .312 with six kills.
Second-year Sydney Hill (Kalamazoo, Mich.) led the charge at the net with seven blocks for the match, with classmate Kendahl Voelker (Fort Myers, Fla.) aiding her efforts, with six blocks. Third-year Brittani Rendina (Lisle, Ill.) anchored the back row defense, picking up a match-high 18 digs.
Second-year Kelly Irvin (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) provided 18 assists in the match, closely followed by fourth-year Marlow Bruneau’s (Lakeville, Minn.) 16 helpers.
Aiwane Iboaya led NC State with 12 kills, while Arlee Tamietti dug 13 attacks and Kelly Wood collected 12. Margaret Salata hit .316 one eight kills and collected four blocks. Alex Smith dished out 32 assists.
Shelton came out on fire in the first set, turning her first seven attack attempts into kills, four of which came within six points to push Virginia ahead 14-9. From there, the Cavaliers never looked back, hitting .316 for the match, while the defense held the Wolfpack at a .105 clip, en route to a 25-19 victory.
Following a set with no tied scores, the second frame had 11, including seven lead changes. With the score knotted at 24, a kill by Shelton gave Virginia the advantage and forced the Wolfpack to call a timeout at 25-24. A block by Hill and Voelker secured a 2-0 lead in the match with a 26-24 set win.
Virginia jumped out to a 15-9 lead early in the third stanza, forcing N.C. State to call a timeout. Hitting .407 in the frame, the Cavaliers landed 13 kills, while only committing two errors to cruise to a 25-18 victory.
The Cavaliers will return to action next weekend, concluding their four-match homestand, hosting Maryland and Boston College. Virginia will face the Terrapins on Friday, Nov. 14, before taking on the Eagles Saturday, Nov. 15. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.