Cavaliers Deny Eagles Comeback Victory, Win in Five Sets
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CHESNUT HILL, Mass. – The Virginia volleyball team followed up its first away win of the season last night against Maryland with a thrilling 3-2 (27-25, 25-20, 27-29, 25-27, 15-7) victory over Boston College Saturday evening in Power Gymnasium. Despite winning the first two sets and then dropping the next two, the Cavaliers rallied for a dominating fifth game win, to deny the Eagles a come-from-behind victory.
The Cavaliers won the close battle with defense, collecting a season-best 99 digs as a team, while the attack landed 77 kills compared to Boston College’s 62.
Sophomore Simone Asque followed up a career-night on Friday of 21 kills by knocking down a personal-best 27 tonight. She added a season-best 16 digs to register her eighth career double-double. Freshman Rachel Gray also tallied a double-double for the Cavaliers, her third for the year, dishing out a personal-best 67 assists and collecting a career-high 15 digs.
Junior Kendahl Voelker knocked down a career-best 19 kills to help the attack, while junior AJ Cushman led the backline with 24 digs and three service aces. Classmates Brittani Rendina and Tara Hester helped anchor the defense, collecting 18 and 14 digs, respectively.
For Boston College (11-11, 1-10 ACC), Melanie Cimino led the way with 21 kills, while Brennan Clark had a match-high 25 digs. Krystle Higgins had nine blocks.
The finale of the opening set was a neck-in-neck battle. Beginning with an even 20-20 score, the squads traded points to keep the score knotted, before Voelker lifted the Cavaliers to a 27-25 victory by knocking down back-to-back kills to close out the frame.
The beginning of the second stanza picked up where the first left off, with the two squads combining for eight tie scores. Following a Cavalier timeout with Virginia down three, 15-18, the Cavaliers worked to even the score at 20 and closed out the frame on a 7-0 run for a 25-20 win.
In another epic battle, Virginia strung together a 4-0 run midway through the third frame to tie the score at 17 all. The squads proceeded to trade serves and the game remained tied at every point up until Boston College escaped with a 29-27 victory, following a kill and then an attack error on UVa.
Virginia fell behind early in the fourth frame, with Boston College pulling ahead by as many as five, at 13-8. But the Cavaliers held on until they were able to capitalize on a 5-0 run that was capped by a block from sophomores Hillary Trebels and Tess Udall to tie the score at 19 all. Again, neither team could find the momentum to string together a run that would enable an easy victory. For the third time in four sets, the frame required extra points, but it was the Eagles who managed to escape with the 27-25 victory this time.
The Cavaliers started off on fire in the fifth set, jumping out to a 6-1 advantage, and never looked back, en route to a 15-7 match win.
Virginia (9-13, 4-7 ACC) will return home next weekend to host No. 17 Florida State and Miami. The Cavaliers will face the Seminoles on Friday at 7 p.m., before taking on the Hurricanes at noon on Sunday.