Virginia Splits Action Saturday At Crimson-White
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Box Score Sept. 12, 2015
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Virginia volleyball team split its two matches on Saturday at the Crimson-White Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Cavaliers defeated Troy, 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 28-30, 25-21), but fell to Alabama 3-1 (30-28, 17-25, 25-17, 25-18).
“Right now we are good enough to play with anyone we face,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “We controlled the first two sets, but gave up some aces at the end of set one and it cost us. We should have been up 2-0 going into the break.”
Virginia (5-3) was more efficient with a .291 hitting percentage while holding Alabama (4-6) to .243. The Cavaliers also led the match with 15 blocks to seven, and had 57 digs to 51 for the Crimson Tide. Alabama had the edge with nine service aces to two.
Senior Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) recorded a triple-double with 14 kills, 12 digs and 11 blocks. It was the first time a UVa player had a triple-double since Tori Janowski’s in 2012. Bausback’s career-high 11 blocks were the most in a four-set match since 2004. For the second-straight week Bausback earned all-tournament honors.
Senior Kayla Sears (Moorpark, Calif.) added 12 kills and sophomore Alex Thorson (Spring, Texas) had 10. Junior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) picked up a season-high 20 digs, while junior Haley Kole (Tallahasse, Fla.) added 12 digs.
For the second time on Saturday, Virginia saw a set go to extra points. The Cavaliers used a 6-0 run early to take a 14-11 lead over Alabama. UVa would eventually stretch its lead to 20-14, but the Crimson Tide mounted a comeback to tie it up at 23-23. After six ties, Krystal Rivers landed a kill then Alabama picked up a block to win the first set 30-28.
After going down 7-3 and calling an early timeout, Virginia had a 4-0 run to tie the second set up at 7-7. The Cavaliers used another run to go ahead 15-11 and never looked back to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win in the second set.
Alabama responded with a 25-17 win in the third set to lead 2-1 heading into the fourth. Virginia had the early lead in the fourth set, but the Crimson Tide went ahead 8-7 and held on for the 25-18 win to take the match.
In the first match of the day, Virginia out-hit Troy (5-5) with a .273 attack percentage while holding the Trojans to .191. The teams were evenly matched with seven blocks each and Troy just edged the Cavaliers in kills, 55-54, and digs, 65-49.
Three players hit in double figures. Kole led with 13, Sears finished with 11 and Thorson added 10. Riccolo and senior Lauren Fuller (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) each picked up double-digit digs. Fuller recorded a double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs.
After starting evenly matched, a 4-0 run gave Virginia the 9-5 lead in the opening set. The Cavaliers stretched their lead to 13-7 after back-to-back service aces from Fuller to force a Troy timeout.
Troy had a small run, but it was halted with three-straight points for UVa. Virginia easily closed out the first set with a 25-13 win. The Cavaliers recorded six service aces and had a .348 hitting percentage in the opening set.
The second set remained close until a 7-1 run put UVa ahead 21-13. Troy battled back to cut the lead to four, but Virginia held on to take the win, 25-20. It took extra points to decide the third set as both teams traded the lead throughout. Tied at 28-28, the Trojans were able to string together two-straight points and win the set 30-28.
It was another tight set in the fourth with 11 tie scores and seven lead changes. Virginia regained the lead at 16-15 and stayed in control for the remainder of the set. The Cavaliers secured the match with a 25-12 win.
“We are still tinkering with our lineup and feel we are on the cusp of something good,” Hohenshelt remarked. “We were actually better this weekend than last, but we just didn’t finish. We have to learn what it means to push through and be good for the entire length of the match.”
Virginia will close out the non-conference slate at the American Classic in Washington, D.C. Sept. 18-19. The Cavaliers will play UMBC on Friday and William & Mary and tournament-host American on Saturday.