Great Danes Sweep Cavaliers in Marriott Cavalier Invitational Finale

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team dropped its second-straight match Saturday evening, 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 16-25), to Albany in the Marriott Cavalier Invitational finale. The loss drops the Cavaliers to 6-6 on the season, while Albany moves to 5-8.

Sophomore Simone Asque paced the Cavaliers, contributing 10 kills, while freshman Rachel Gray tallied 26 assists. AJ Cushman, a member of the all-tournament team, and Brittani Rendina each dug nine attacks.

For the Great Danes, Valerie Sourbeer had 14 kills. Brooke Stanley, another all-tournament team member, dished out 37 assists and Hillary White had 10 digs.

The score was tight early in the first set with Virginia and Albany seeing seven tie scores in the first 14 points. The Great Danes used a timely seven-point run to amass a nine-point lead on the Cavaliers. Virginia put up a six-point streak of its own, but fell short as Albany took the frame, 25-21.

Albany jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second frame, opening the set with three kills. The Cavaliers responded by eventually tying the score at 11, but the Great Danes strung together three more kills, forcing Virginia to call a timeout. Virginia pulled within one after the break, but the Cavaliers were unable to even the score, and Albany finished the frame on top, 20-25.

The third set played out much like the first two, with Albany breaking away from the Cavaliers. The Great Danes capitalized on a pair of 3-0 runs to take the set and the match with a 25-16 victory.

Virginia will be back in action on Friday as they travel to face Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., at 7 p.m. The Cavaliers will then take on Florida State in Tallahassee on Sunday at noon.

All-Tournament Team
Krista Andersen, Villanova – MVP
Courtney Oertli, Villanova
Kim Maroon, Villanova
AJ Cushman, Virginia
Jennifer Wiker, Virginia Tech
Brooke Stanley, Albany