Virginia Wins Close Five-Set Match Over BC, 3-2
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Oct. 12, 2013
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The Virginia volleyball team earned a season-high 17 blocks on the way to a hard-fought five set win over Boston College, 25-15, 17-25, 25-20, 24-26 and 15-10, Saturday night (Oct. 12) at Memorial Gymnasium.
“I thought we battled tonight,” UVa head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “I was hard on them (after last night’s loss), but these kids don’t quit and that’s what I like about them. They came into the gym with a great attitude today and did some nice things to get the win.
“We are streaky when it comes to consistency about our blocking, but it comes down to how well we are serving. If we serve tough, like we did tonight, it puts the other team out of system and puts our blockers in better position. Last night, we didn’t serve tough enough and could not stop Syracuse’s hitters.”
Sitting at 10-8 and 3-3 in ACC play, the Cavaliers have surpassed last season’s win total (nine) and have matched 2012’s conference win total with 14 matches to go. Boston College fell to 8-10 on the season (0-6 ACC). UVa has never lost to BC at Memorial Gymnasium (9-0).
“It’s nice for our veterans because they have been through some tough times here,” Hohenshelt said. “My point to them is they might have left some wins on the table already and what we need to do now is take that next step.”
In the decisive fifth set, the Cavaliers built leads of 4-0 and 9-7, but the Eagles came back to tie both times. With the score tied at 10, UVa won the last five points on three freshman Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) kills and two BC hitting errors.
Sophomore Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) posted a career-high nine blocks while adding seven kills with a .353 hitting percentage. Junior Mallory Woolridge (Glen Allen, Va.) had a season-high eight blocks.
Junior Tori Janowski (Sterling, Va.) tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs, while Kole and fellow freshman Jasmine Burton (White Hills, Calif.) recorded 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Sophomore Lauren Fuller (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) also posted a double-double with 45 assists and 10 digs.
In the first set, the Cavaliers were able to earn 15 kills and four blocks and hold Boston College to a .000 hitting percentage on the way to a 25-15 win.
Boston College came back in the second set, earning 14 kills to UVa’s 10 and claimed the set, 25-17.
The Eagles had a 20-17 lead in the third set when the Cavaliers pulled off eight consecutive points off the serve of Janowski to win 25-20.
The fourth set was tight with UVa fighting off a set point before the Eagles’ block provided the set-winning point, 26-24.
Katty Workman had a match-high 26 kills to lead BC.
Virginia returns to action next weekend (Oct. 18-19) when it faces North Carolina and NC State at Memorial Gymnasium. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts.