Virginia Falls 3-0 at Notre Dame
Nov. 12, 2017
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Virginia volleyball team (7-20, 3-13 ACC) fell 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) at Notre Dame (19-8, 9-7 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in Purcell Pavilion.
Freshman Alex Spencer (North Canton, Ohio) lead the Cavaliers with 15 kills and fellow freshman Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) added 10 kills. Spencer finished with a double-double, recording 18 digs. Jemma Yeadon led Notre Dame with 13 kills.
Freshman Megan Wilson (Brookeville, Md.) dished out 38 assists and sophomore Kelsey Miller (Crestwood, Ky.) had a career-high 26 digs.
Virginia had a .197 hitting percentage, while Notre Dame finished with a .254 hitting percentage. The Cavaliers had the edge in digs, 66-65, and kills, 43-38. The Irish led in blocks (4-2) and service aces (4-3).
Virginia scored on a kill by Billiard, before a 7-0 run gave Notre Dame an 8-1 lead. The Cavaliers scored four of the next five points with two kills by junior Harley Sebastian (Atlanta, Ga.) and Spencer. UVA cut it to 11-8 with another 3-1 run. UVA called a timeout down 13-8, and kills by sophomore Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) and Billiard cut it to 13-10. Notre Dame scored three-straight to extend its lead to 17-11. Down 24-13, Virginia scored five straight points including back-to-back aces by Spencer to hold off set point and cut it to 24-18. Notre Dame scored the next point to take the set 25-18.
UVA was on the board first in the second set on a kill by Anukwuem. The Cavaliers and Irish traded points to be tied 6-6 when Notre Dame scored three straight to lead 9-6. Virginia came back with a 3-1 run on kills by Sebastian, Spencer and Anukwuem to cut it to 12-11. Notre Dame had another run to remain in front. The Cavaliers stayed close and eventually cut it back to one, 23-22, as Notre Dame called timeout. The Irish scored back-to-back points to take the set 25-22.
Virginia fell behind 8-1 in the third set. UVA was down 15-5 when it used a 5-1 run to cut it to 16-10. Billiard had all three of UVA’s kills in the run. The teams alternated points down the stretch as Notre Dame held on to win 25-17.
Virginia will return home to host Miami on Friday, Nov. 17 and Florida State on Sunday, Nov. 19. Friday’s match is Senior Night with senior Haley Fauntleroy being honored prior to the match.