Virginia Downs Miami in Four Sets

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia placed three players in double-figure kills Friday night to help the Cavaliers to a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-14, 25-20) win over Miami in Memorial Gymnasium. The win moves the Cavaliers to an even 11-11 on the season and improves them to 5-7 in the ACC, while Miami falls to 16-7 overall and 6-6 in the league.

Junior Simone Asque led the way with 21 kills, while freshmen McKenzie Adams and Emily Rottman each recorded double-doubles. Adams landed 18 kills and earned 12 digs for her fifth career double-double, while Rottman notched her third collegiate double-double, knocking down a career-high 14 kills and picking up 13 digs.

Senior AJ Cushman led the defense with a match-high 27 digs, while Adams and freshman Mallory Woolridge contributed five blocks. Asque added four.

Redshirt sophomore Beth Wildermuth paced the attack with a match-high 59 assists.

For Miami, Lane Carico and Christine Williamson shared the lead with 11 kills each, while Carico picked up a team-high 18 digs. Ali Becker led the charge at the net with five blocks.

For the match, Virginia led the way in all stat categories: kills (64-42), percentage (.289-.136), assists (62-39), aces (5-3), digs (68-63) and blocks (10.5-7.0).

Virginia jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and never relinquished its lead. The Cavaliers extended their advantage to eight at 18-10, but Miami was able to cut its deficit to four at 19-15, forcing Virginia to call a timeout. From there, the two squads traded serves and Virginia held on for the 25-21 win.

The second set featured seven tie scores and two lead changes. With the score tied for the final time at 19, Miami worked its advantage to three, forcing Virginia to call a timeout while down 22-19. The deficit was too much to overcome however, as the Hurricanes went on to win the match, 25-21.

Virginia worked the score to 12-7 in the third stanza, before a block from Adams and Woolridge saw the Cavaliers take a commanding 21-11 advantage. Virginia went on to score four of the final seven points of the set to give the Cavaliers a convincing 25-14 victory.

The fourth frame was a back-and-forth battle before Virginia went on a 4-0 run to pull ahead 15-12. From there, the squads traded serves to work the score to 22-19, before Virginia closed out the frame on a 3-1 run to take a 25-20 set win.

The Cavaliers will return to action on Sunday, hosting No. 25 Florida State at 1 p.m.