Cavaliers Sweep Wolfpack in Dominating Fashion

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team snapped its losing skid with a dominating three-set victory (25-16, 25-21, 25-16) over NC State in an Atlantic Coast Conference match played in Memorial Gymnasium on Friday evening. The Cavaliers tied a season-best 10 service aces in the match and hit .265 to put away the Wolfpack.

Sophomore Simone Asque paced the attack, landing 13 kills on 21 swings for a .381 attack percentage. Junior Kendahl Voelker knocked down eight attacks and senior Lauren Dickson and freshman Jessica O’Shoney each contributed six kills.

Defensively, Lauren Dickson collected a team-high 11 digs, while junior AJ Cushman tallied 10. O’Shoney had a match-high six blocks and Voelker added four.

Freshman Rachel Gray dished out a match-high 34 assists and had three service aces.

For the Wolfpack (7-13, 0-5 ACC), Margaret Salata landed 12 kills, while Keri DeMar had 11 digs. Alex Smith handed out 25 assists.

The first set started with the Wolfpack and the Cavaliers alternating points, tying the score at eight. Virginia responded with a 4-0 run to pull ahead, 12-8, and used a second 4-0 run, en route to a 25-16 set victory.

Capitalizing on consecutive service aces from Voelker, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early four-point lead in the second frame. NC State responded by stringing together a 10-4 run to take the lead, 14-12. But a 5-0 run from Virginia put the Cavaliers ahead 17-14 and allowed them to win 25-21.

Virginia used a 13-point run behind the serving of Gray to break open an even 5-5 tie and run away with a 25-16 set win.

The Cavaliers (7-10, 2-4 ACC) will return to action on Sunday, hosting North Carolina at noon.