Virginia Drops ACC Opener at Virginia Tech, 3-1

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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team dropped its Atlantic Coast Conference opener, 3-1 (18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-15), at Virginia Tech Friday (Sept. 16) night. The Cavaliers’ record went to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in the ACC, while the Hokies improved to 6-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Rachel Clark led the Cavaliers with 11 kills, 14 digs, four blocks and an ace. Simone Asque added 10 kills while Emily Rottman and Tess Udall contributed 14 and 21 digs, respectively.

The Hokies jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead in set one and extended their lead to 21-12 on a kill by Jennifer Wiker. Four-straight Cavalier points, capped off by a kill by Clark, made the score 21-16, but Virginia Tech ended the game on a 4-2 run to claim a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, Virginia led by a score of 14-9 after a kill by Clark, but Virginia Tech rallied to tie the score at 16-16 on a kill by Kathryn Caine. From there, the Hokies closed out the set by out-scoring the ‘Hoos 9-5 to take a 2-0 lead.

Virginia Tech had a substantial lead in the third set, 19-13, but a 9-3 run by UVa tied the score at 22-22. Virginia closed out the match with three-consecutive points on Tori Janowski’s serve to make the score of the match 2-1.

The fourth set belonged to Virginia Tech, as the Hokies built an 18-14 lead and ended the game on a 7-1 run to clinch the match.

Virginia Tech’s Cara Baarendse finished with a double-double (13 kills and 16 digs), while Justine Record added nine kills and 19 digs.

For Virginia, Beth Wildermuth finished with 41 assists in addition to seven digs and two blocks.

Virginia is back in action Saturday (Sept. 17), facing UConn on the campus of Virginia Tech. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.