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Virginia Defeats Clemson 3-1
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Box Score Oct. 29, 2016
CLEMSON, S.C. – Seniors Jasmine Burton (West Hills, Calif.) and Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) combined for 34 kills to lead the Virginia volleyball team to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-19) victory over Clemson on Saturday night at Jervey Gym.
After falling in a close first set, Virginia (5-19, 2-10 ACC) powered back to win the next three sets and sweep the series over Clemson (6-18, 1-11 ACC).
“I thought we were in control the whole match even though we lost the first set,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “We just talked about how to get a win streak going and it starts with one win, and we got that tonight. It is great to get a win and we will leave here with a smile on our face.”
The Cavaliers had a great offensive night with a .385 hitting percentage, recording 55 kills, while holding the Tigers to a .167 attack percentage. UVA also led the match in service aces (6-4) and blocks (8.0-4.0), while Clemson had an edge in digs (46-42).
Burton and Kole finished with 17 kills apiece, while hitting .441 and .469, respectively. In the second set, Burton recorded her eighth kill of the night to become the 19th player in UVA history to reach 1,000 career kills. Burton also had two aces and a four blocks
Sophomore Harley Sebastian (Atlanta, Ga.) had a career-high seven kills and redshirt freshman Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) added seven. Freshman Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.) guided the offense with 44 assists and led the team with nine digs. Young led the team at the net with five blocks.
“Our offense was very efficient and Jenn (Wineholt) did a nice job of understanding what was going on and distributing the ball,” Hohenshelt said. “When we can get Jasmine and Haley that many swings and they are hitting for that percentage, we can mix in middles and that is going to help us win.”
Virginia opened the match with a 5-1 lead after scoring the first two points on kills by Kole. The Cavaliers were leading 8-4, when Clemson fought back with an 8-3 run to take a 12-11 lead. The teams then traded points back and forth with seven tie scores until Clemson pulled ahead 21-18. The Cavaliers were down 23-19 when they scored two-straight on a kill by Burton followed by a block for Burton and Young to force a Clemson timeout. UVA held off two set points but the Tigers took the first set 25-23.
The Cavaliers came out strong again in the second set, opening with a 5-0 lead that included an ace by Wineholt and solo block for Kole. Virginia later extended its lead to 15-7 after three-straight service aces by senior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.). Burton then landed her eighth kill of the match to give the Cavaliers a 17-9 lead over the Tigers. UVA continued to control the set and took the win 25-14.
It was a battle to start the third set until a 4-0 run gave Virginia a 10-6 lead over Clemson. The Tigers cut the lead to 17-14, but two kills by Kole and one for Burton put the Cavaliers up 20-14. UVA was leading 22-15 when Clemson scored four of the next five points to close the gap to four, but the Cavaliers didn’t falter as they took the third set 25-19 to lead 2-1.
UVA took an early advantage with a 5-1 lead in the fourth set. The Cavaliers stretched their lead to 11-3 with a 5-0 run capped off by a block by Wineholt and Young. A 3-0 run later in the set expanded the UVA lead to 15-6. Clemson cut the lead to four several times, but Virginia didn’t give in as it went on to take the set 25-19 and secure the win.
“We will go back to work next week and try to get two more wins at home,” Hohenshelt said. “Hopefully we can get everyone to come out and support us because the crowds have been great this year.”
Virginia will return to Memorial Gymnasium next weekend when it hosts Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 4 and Boston College on Sunday, Nov. 6.