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Virginia Comes Back To Defeat Appalachian State, 3-2
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Box Score Sept. 5, 2015
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Five players finished with double-digit kills to propel the Virginia volleyball team past Appalachian State, 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 15-25, 25-19, 21-19), in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Cavalier Classic on Saturday morning.
The Cavaliers had to come from behind after trailing 1-0 and 2-1 in the match. Virginia (3-1) finished with a .301 attack percentage, hitting over .300 in four of the five sets, while holding Appalachian State (3-3) to .290.
The Cavaliers totaled nine blocks and added eight service aces on the day. Senior Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) led the team for the second-straight match with 15 kills and had eight blocks.
Senior Kayla Sears (Moorpark, Calif.) and freshman Anna Walsh (Grapevine, Texas) each finished with 13 kills, while junior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 12 and sophomore Alex Thorson (Spring, Texas) had 11.
Junior Karlie Suber (Mechanicsville, Va.) led the defense with 18 digs and junior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) added 13.
In the first set, Virginia was out to a 7-4 lead to force and Appalachian State timeout early. A 9-1 run for the Mountaineers put the Cavaliers down 17-12. Sears landed a kill out of the timeout, and then back-to-back blocks cut the lead to 17-15.
UVa cut the lead to one, 20-19, with another run, but it wouldn’t be enough as Appalachian State held on for a 25-20 win in the first set.
The Cavaliers stormed out to a 6-2 lead in the second set. Sears landed three-straight aces to force an early timeout by the Mountaineers. Virginia kept the momentum in its favor throughout the set to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-13 win in the second set. UVa hit .423 in the set and Thorson led with four kills.
Appalachian State took control of the third set early and held on for a 25-15 win to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. The teams battled in the beginning of the fourth set, but Virginia slowly edged ahead with an 11-7 lead. The Mountaineers tied it up at 12-12, but UVa used a 4-0 run to stretch its lead back to 16-12.
Virginia stretched its lead to four points several times, and the Mountaineers continued to climb back into the set. The Cavaliers used a 6-1 run to close the set with a 25-19 win and send it to a tie breaking fifth set.
The fifth set came down to extra points as the teams saw seven ties. Both teams traded the advantage, but Virginia rattled off three-straight points with kills from Thorson and Bausback followed by a combined block from the pair to cap off the win.
The Cavaliers will be back in action for the final match of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Cavalier Classic against Iowa State at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.