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Virginia Volleyball Sweeps UMBC, 3-0
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Box Score Sept. 18, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ten different players recorded kills and 15 saw action as the Virginia volleyball team defeated UMBC, 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-16), on Friday afternoon in the American Classic. It marked career-win number 50 for head coach Dennis Hohenshelt in his four years at UVa.
“I was very proud of how our starters came out and controlled the match early on,” Hohenshelt said. “It was the start we were hoping for after traveling up here, getting out of vans, and jumping into the gym. This was the most people we have ever played in a match and our level of play did not drop off.”
Virginia (6-3) had its highest hitting percentage of the season with a .306 clip, while holding UMBC (6-5) to just .064 on the match. The Cavaliers had the advantage in kills, 40-21, service aces, 8-1, and digs, 34-27. The Terriers had an 8-6 edge in blocks.
Freshman Anna Walsh (Grapevine, Texas) led the team with 11 kills and senior Kayla Sears (Moorpark, Calif.) added 10 for Virginia. Senior Lauren Fuller (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) paced the offense with 28 assists.
Defensively, junior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) led with 12 digs and senior Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) added 11. Walsh, Bausback and sophomore Alex Thorson (Spring, Texas) each had three blocks.
UVa landed three-straight kills to open the match, and then used a 4-0 run to take a 9-4 lead over UMBC. The Cavaliers continued to stretch their lead with a 9-0 run behind Riccolo’s serve to make it 23-9. Junior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Sears each landed a kill to close out the 25-11 win.
The second set was close early, but it wasn’t long before UVa surged ahead with a 7-1 run to lead 16-7. UMBC made a small run to close the gap, but Virginia didn’t falter as it held on for the 25-15 win to lead the match 2-0.
In the third set, UMBC jumped out quickly with a 4-1 advantage until the Cavaliers put together a 5-0 run to go ahead 6-4. Virginia never relinquished its lead as it won the third set 25-16 to complete the sweep.
Sophomore Krystal Ejesieme (Garland, Texas) made her Cavalier debut with two kills and freshman Coral Kazaroff (Apex, N.C.) also made her first career appearance, recording a service ace and one dig.
“We were able to get some starters time to rest, give the backups some quality playing time and get the win,” Hohenshelt added. “Those are all important things in the grind of these first four weeks.”
Virginia will close out the American Classic with two matches on Saturday. The Cavaliers take on William & Mary at 1:30 p.m. before playing tournament-host American at 7 p.m.