Virginia Sweeps Ohio 3-0
Sept. 9, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Freshman Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) had 18 kills to lead the Virginia volleyball team (4-5) to a 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-17) sweep over Ohio (6-5) on Saturday night in the Jefferson Cup finale at Memorial Gymnasium.
“The team feels great after a win, it is a good way to finish the weekend,” head coach Aaron Smith said. “It is back-to-back weekends now we have dropped the first two matches and found another level to finish on a good note. Ultimately, going 1-2 is not the goal. We know we have to approach each practice ready to get better. When we have eight or nine people step up and play their roles like they are supposed to it is great, but we need to make sure we are getting better and doing that every night.”
Along with Billiard, sophomore Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 10 kills. Freshman setter Megan Wilson (Brookeville, Md.) paced the offense with 40 assists.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) had four blocks. Sophomore Jane Horner (Mission Viejo, Calif.) had 14 digs and a team-high three aces, while junior Olivia Wolodkewitsch (Omaha, Neb.) had 12 digs.
Virginia led the match with a .237 hitting percentage, while holding Ohio to a .118 attack percentage. The Cavaliers led in blocks (6-4), aces (8-5) and digs (49-41).
Virginia was down 8-2 when it put together a 5-0 run to cut Ohio’s lead to one. The Cavaliers scored back-to-back kills by Anukwuem and Novakovic to tie the set 9-9. The Bobcats responded with a 3-0 run to go ahead 13-9 as UVA called timeout. Virginia then used a 6-1 run to take a 15-14 lead. Ohio then scored three-straight to go back in front. The Cavaliers stayed close with back-to-back kills by Billiard and Novakovic cut the Bobcats’ lead to 19-18. Ohio was leading 24-22 when UVA saved set-point as the Bobcats called timeout then scored to tie the set 24-24. Billiard tied the set again, then an ace by Horner followed by another kill for Billiard gave UVA the 27-25 win.
UVA jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set and extended it to 7-1 after back-to-back aces for Wilson and a kill by Billiard forced an early timeout by Ohio. The Cavaliers kept control, taking a 12-8 lead on a kill by Spencer. Ohio cut the lead to two, 12-10, but UVA responded with a block by Billiard and Young. The Bobcats would tie the set several times, but Billiard had kills each time to keep UVA in the lead. The Cavaliers took an 18-15 lead as Ohio called timeout. The Bobcats cut the score to one several times, but Virginia never relinquished the lead as UVA took the set 25-21.
Billiard opened the third set with back-to-back kills. Ohio tied the set up, but a 5-1 run gave the Cavaliers a 7-3 lead. The teams traded points until a block by Spencer and Young sparked a 4-0 run to give UVA a 14-7 advantage. Virginia extended its lead to 18-6 with a kill by Young and an ace for Spencer. Ohio closed UVA’s lead to one, 16-15, with a 7-0 run. The Cavaliers regained momentum with a 6-0 run to lead 22-15. The Cavalier went on to clinch the match with a 25-17 win.
Virginia will be back on the road the Central Florida Tournament in Orlando, Fla. on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 15-16).