Virginia Blocks Past Boston College, 3-1
Oct. 26, 2017
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Virginia volleyball team came back to defeat Boston College, 3-1 (12-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-13) on Thursday night at Power Gym in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
After dropping the first set, Virginia (5-17, 1-10 ACC) came back to take the next three in the win. The Cavaliers finished with a season-high 15.0 blocks on the night. UVA finished with a .178 hitting percentage, while holding Boston College (5-16, 2-9 ACC) to a .073 percentage.
“After a slow starter in set one, I was really proud how we rebounded and stayed steady through the remaining sets,” head coach Aaron Smith said. “We were as strong defensively as we have been all year. Our servers appliled constant pressure, our block really impacked the match and our backcourt made some great plays. We will certainly ennjoy this win and get back at it tomorrow morning to prepare for Syracuse on Sunday.”
Sophomore Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) led Virginia with 11 kills and a season-high eight blocks. Sophomore Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 10 kills and a career-high five blocks. Freshman Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) had nine kills. Lynn Braakhuis led BC with 11 kills.
Redshirt sophomore Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) had a career-high seven blocks for the second-straight match. Sophomore Kelsey Miller (Crestwood, Ky.) led the back line with 19 digs.
Virginia fell behind 7-2 in the opening set, but would come back with a 5-1 run to tie the set 10-10. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run to take a 17-10 advantage. The Cavaliers responded with a 6-1 run of their own that was sparked by kills for Billiard and freshman Megan Wilson (Brookeville, Md.) followed by back-to-back blocks by Young and Novakovic. UVA had cut it to 18-16 before three-straight points for BC, but a 5-1 run pulled the Cavaliers within one 22-21. The Eagles had three-straight points to take the set 25-21.
UVA came out strong in the second set with a 6-1 lead. Novakovic had two kills and freshman Alex Spencer (Canton, Ohio) had back-to-back kills along with a block with Young during the run. The Cavaliers added to the lead with three-straight points, to go ahead 9-3 as Boston College called timeout. Virginia had a 4-0 run that included back-to-back kills by junior Harley Sebastian (Atlanta, Ga.) to lead the Eagles, 13-5. UVA would continue to extend its lead with a 6-0 rally and controlled the remainder of the set to win 25-16.
After trading points to begin the third, the Cavaliers had a 7-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. BC closed the gap to 12-9, but Virginia hit right back with kills by Sebastian and Young to keep momentum. Then a 7-1 run, with two kills by both Billiard and Novakovic, put UVA in front 21-11. Boston College had a 7-2 run to cut it to 24-19, but a kill by Anukuem gave Virginia the 25-19 win and a 2-1 lead.
With BC leading 4-3, Virginia had a 4-0 run with kills by Spencer, sophomore Jane Horner (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Anuwkuem, to put the Cavaliers ahead 7-4. Back-to-back service aces by Wineholt helped a 4-0 run as Virginia took an 11-5 advantage. BC would cut it to 15-11, but Virginia scored four-straight points to lead 19-11. The Cavaliers closed out the set on a 6-1 run to win 25-13.
The Cavaliers had the edge in blocks, 15-7, digs, 75-72, and aces, 4-2.
Virginia will remain on the road as it travels to Syracuse on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match at the Women’s Building. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.