Cavaliers Earn Exciting Five-Set Victory Over Miami

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sophomore Simone Asque and senior Brittani Rendina combined to lead the Virginia volleyball team to an exciting 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 10-15) victory over Miami on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium.

Asque landed a career-high 29 kills, her third 20-kill performance in the past three matches, while Rendina led the defense with a season-best 34 digs – her second career 30-dig match. Asque’s 29 kills ties her for the ninth-best single match performance in UVa history.

Freshman Rachel Gray paced the offense with 53 assists and collected 18 digs to register the fourth double-double of her young career. Junior AJ Cushman also had a solid defensive game, collecting 14 digs, while senior Tara Hester had 11 digs. Junior Sydney Hill contributed a season-best six blocks.

Junior Kendahl Voelker had a dominating performance at the net, landing 14 kills and collecting five blocks, while freshman Jess O’Shoney had eight kills, a career-high seven digs and three blocks.

For Miami (14-9, 7-6 ACC), Lane Carico had 21 kills and 23 digs, while Cassie Loessberg had 23 digs. Nrithya Sundararaman dished out 47 assists.

As a team, six Cavaliers combined for nine service aces, while the Cavaliers out-blocked the Hurricanes, 11-9.

The Cavaliers used solid serving in the opening set to carry them to a 25-18 victory. Virginia landed five service aces throughout the set, with three coming in a 10-2 run that the Cavaliers used to close out the frame.

The second frame was a tight one, featuring nine tie scores. With the score tied at 18, the Hurricanes broke out, taking four-straight points and the lead, 22-18. The Cavaliers responded with a 4-0 run of their own, leaving the score tied at 22. Virginia was unable to claim the lead though, as Miami finished out the frame with a three-point run to take the set 25-23.

Virginia took control early in the third set, leading by as many as eight, but was unable to maintain the advantage. With the score tied at 21, the Hurricanes put together a 4-1 run to take the set.

The fourth set continued the trend of tight frames between the Cavaliers and the Hurricanes. The set was punctuated by nine tie score and four lead changes. With the score tied at 20, Virginia took control of the frame, winning five of the next eight points, forcing a decisive fifth set with a 25-23 victory.

Virginia came out strong in the fifth set, taking a commanding 10-3 lead in the frame and never looked back. The Hurricanes staged a comeback attempt, but it was not enough as the Cavaliers took the set and the match with a 15-10 win.

The Cavaliers (10-14, 5-8 ACC) will be back in action next weekend, heading to North Carolina Friday (5 p.m.) and NC State Sunday (1 p.m.).