Virginia Falls 3-0 to ETSU
Sept. 1, 2017
BOONE, N.C. – The Virginia volleyball team (2-2) fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-10) to ETSU on Friday afternoon at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, N.C.
The Cavaliers struggled offensively, hitting .067 to a .321 attack percentage for the Bucs. UVA trailed in digs (47-41), blocks (9.0-7.0) and service aces (6-3).
Sophomore Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) recorded a double-double to lead Virginia with 10 kills and tied for the team-high with 13 digs. Novakovic added three blocks at the net. Leah Clayton led ETSU with 11 kills.
Sophomore Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) added seven kills on a .357 hitting percentage. Sophomore Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) had a team-high four blocks.
Virginia came out strong, opening the first set with a 4-0 run that included back-to-back blocks. The Cavaliers continued to lead and stretched their advantage to 12-7 on a 3-0 run that was capped off by an ace from freshman Megan Wilson (Brookeville, Md.). UVA was up 14-9 when a 10-2 run put ETSU in front 19-16. Virginia cut it to 22-20, but ETSU closed out the set with the final three points to win 25-20.
The teams traded points to begin the second set. UVA took a 6-5 lead after two-straight kills from freshman Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) and Novakovic. ETSU surged ahead with a 7-1 run to lead 12-7 as the Cavaliers called timeout. Virginia responded with a 5-1 run to cut it to 13-12, but ETSU used a 3-0 run to go up 17-13. Virginia regained the lead, 18-17, with a 5-0 run before the Bucs closed out the set with eight of the final 10 points to win 25-20 and lead the match 2-0.
The Cavaliers went down 5-1 early in the third set and were not able to recover as ETSU continued to stretch its lead. UVA dropped the final set 25-10.
Virginia will be back in action for the second day of the Appalachian Invitational on Saturday. UVA will face Towson at 10 a.m. before closing the tournament against App State at 7 p.m.