Virginia Tops Liberty 3-1
Aug. 26, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team (2-0) topped Liberty 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 21-25, 25-20) to move to 2-0 in the 2017 Cavalier Classic on Saturday morning in Memorial Gymnasium.
Virginia out-hit Liberty, .186-.158, with 60 kills to just 43 for the Flames. The Cavaliers had 76 digs to 63 and tallied six service aces.
Three players hit in double figures, led by sophomore Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) with 16 kills. Novakovic finished with a double-double, leading UVA with 20 digs. Freshman Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) added 13 and sophomore Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) had 11.
Novakovic and sophomore Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) paced the Cavaliers at the net with four blocks apiece.
UVA got off to a quick 3-0 start before Liberty settled in to make it 5-2 in Virginia’s favor. Virginia proceeded to win three of the next four points, taking an 8-3 lead and forcing a Liberty time out. Liberty continued to fight, which included a 4-0 run, to take a 16-15 advantage. Virginia, however, would counter with a 3-0 run, winning 5 of the next 6 points, taking a 20-17 lead. The Cavaliers held on to win the set 25-21.
The second set was a battle with 21 ties and seven lead changes. The teams traded points from 3-3 to 21-21 until Virginia broke away to lead 23-21. Liberty came back to tie it up 24-24 to send it to extras. The Cavaliers kept the advantage and took the win 27-25.
Virginia had an early lead in the third set, but the Flames fought back to take a 12-10 lead. Liberty kept control in the set and went on to win 25-21 to force a fourth set.
UVA went up 5-2 early in the fourth, but Liberty immediately replied with a 4-0 run. After trailing 6-5, UVA took four of the next five points to go up 9-6. UVA lead 13-11 before taking four points in a row to open the set up 17-11. Liberty cut the lead to three, but Virginia didn’t let up as it took the set 25-20 to take the win.
The Cavaliers will be back in action to close out the Cavalier Classic at 7 p.m. against Villanova.