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Virginia Edged by Virginia Tech, 3-2
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Box Score Nov. 25, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team fell short on Senior Night against Virginia Tech, 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 15-13) Friday evening in Memorial Gymnasium.
After falling in the first two sets, Virginia (7-24, 4-15 ACC) won the third set 25-17 and took the fourth 25-21 to send the match to a fifth set after hitting above .300 in both sets. The Cavaliers fell behind early in the fifth, but fought three set points to cut the lead to one, 14-13. Virginia Tech (13-18, 8-12 ACC) held on to win the set 15-13.
“We played well enough to win the match and did enough to win,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “It was a repeat the fifth game where we don’t execute well. We can’t go from hitting .353 and .344 to hitting .088. It is an exact replica of last Sunday night. We have to get tougher and make better contacts in the fifth game instead of hoping to make good contacts.”
Senior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished with a career-high 29 kills to lead the Cavaliers. Senior Jasmine Burton (West Hills, Calif.) had 16 kills and senior Alex Thorson finished with eight. Senior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) had a team-high 16 digs and senior Meghan McDowell dished out 12 assists with one block.
“It was a nice Senior Night for the seniors,” Hohenshelt said. “I thought they all did a good job. They are doing a lot over the last month and a half to make us better and I appreciate their effort and dedication to this program. Tonight was Senior Night and I was hoping to get them a big win against our rival so I am a little disappointed in that.”
Virginia and Virginia Tech traded points to open the match. The Cavaliers took an 8-7 lead on a kill by redshirt freshman Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.), but VT used a 3-0 run to take a 10-8 advantage. The Cavaliers pulled within one several times, and eventually tied the set at 16-16 on a kill by Burton. The Hokies went back in front with a 3-0 run and stretched their lead to 22-18 as UVA called timeout. The Cavaliers scored two-straight to force a VT timeout. Virginia Tech held on to win the set 25-22.
The Cavaliers came out strong in the second set, leading 4-1 and stretched their lead to 9-4 after an ace by Kole followed by a kill for Burton. Virginia was leading 12-8, when Virginia Tech used a 4-0 to tie the set at 12-12. The Cavaliers quickly regained the lead with a kill by Kole and an ace by freshman Kiley Banker (West Lafayette, Ind.). Virginia took a 16-13 lead on a kill by Burton. The Cavaliers were up 18-15, when VT began a 3-0 run to tie it up once again. The teams traded points before UVA pulled ahead 21-19, but the Hokies knotted the set at 21-21. The teams saw two more ties before Virginia Tech scored back-to-back kills to win 25-23.
UVA jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a kill by Burton, two aces for freshman Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.) and a kill by Burton. Virginia collected another kill by Burton, then a block for Burton and Young and a kill by Thorson made it a 7-1 as VT called timeout. Virginia Tech cut the lead to 12-8, but the Cavaliers scored two-straight capped off by an ace for Kole to lead 16-9. Virginia used a 4-0 run to lead 20-10, when a 6-2 run for VT cut the lead to 22-16. Kole landed back-to-back kills to make it 24-16 and added another kill to give UVA a 25-17 win.
Virginia scored three-straight to begin the fourth and remained in the lead until Virginia Tech came back to tie the set at 8-8. After each team scored a point, UVA went on a 3-0 run to lead 12-9. The Cavaliers were leading 18-14 when the Hokies used a 5-2 run to it the lead to one, 20-19. Virginia remained in the lead and a kill by Kole secured the 25-21 win to send it to a fifth set.
After falling behind 3-1, UVA came back to tie the set at 5-5 on an ace by Burton. The teams traded points until two-straight points put VT ahead 8-6. Virginia had back-to-back points to tie the set at 8-8. The Hokies took an 11-9 lead but UVA closed the gap to one with three-straight points, including a kill and ace by Kole. Virginia Tech went up 14-12 and UVA fought off three match points to cut it to one, but VT held on to win 15-13.
Virginia out-hit Virginia Tech, .266-.235, with 71 kills to 56. The Cavaliers also had the edge in service aces, 9-5, and digs, 62-60. Virginia Tech led with 11.0 blocks to 8.0.
The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 22 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Virginia and Virginia Tech are tied 2.5 to 2.5. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.
The Cavaliers will close the 2016 season on Saturday as they host Pitt at 5 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.