Virginia Sweeps NC State, 3-0

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Oct. 10, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. – Freshman Anna Walsh (Grapevine, Texas) and junior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) tallied double-figure kills to lead the Virginia volleyball team to a win over NC State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23), on Saturday night at Holliday Gymnasium.

“Our back row kids did a fantastic job for us,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “I challenged Lexi (Riccolo) mid-way through the first set and she locked in the rest of the way and had a great match. Karlie (Suber) had two very good matches this weekend and what we have found is when she is good, we have a lot of success.

Virginia (12-5, 4-2 ACC) performed well all-around in the match as it led NC State (12-6, 1-5 ACC) in kills (45-36), hitting percentage (.276-.144), service aces (4-3) and digs (39-31). The Wolfpack had the advantage with 10 blocks to five for the Cavaliers.

Walsh finished with a match-high 14 kills and Kole added 13 on the night to lead UVA offensively. Seven different players recorded digs, led by junior Karlie Suber (Mechanicsville, Va.) nine. Senior Lauren Fuller (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and junior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) each tallied eight.

Fuller guided the offense with 39 assists, while senior Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) and sophomore Alex Thorson (Spring, Texas) each picked up three blocks.

NC State was leading 18-14 in the first set, until a 4-0 run for Virginia tied it at 18-18. After falling behind 21-18, the Cavaliers scored seven of the final eight points to win the opener 25-22.

UVA forced an early timeout for NC State after jumping out to an 11-7 lead in the second set. The Cavaliers tacked on four-straight points to extend their lead to 15-8. Virginia did not relinquish its lead as it went on to take the set, 25-18, and lead the match 2-0 at the break.

With the third set tied 7-7, a 5-1 run put the Cavaliers out front, 12-8. NC State came back to tie the set at 13-13 and the teams traded points before Virginia scored four consecutive points to lead 20-16. UVA’s lead was cut to one, 24-23, but a kill by Walsh secured the match with a 25-23 win.

“We are coming home 4-2 in the conference knowing we have two huge matches in Boston and Syracuse next weekend,” Hohenshelt added.

Virginia closes its four-match road swing next weekend at Boston College on Friday (Oct. 16) and Syracuse on Sunday (Oct. 18).