Block Leads Virginia to Sweep of Wake Forest
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A dominant block powered Virginia (7-15, 3-9 ACC) to a 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 sweep of Wake Forest (8-16, 3-9 ACC) Sunday (Oct. 28) afternoon at Reynolds Gym.
The Cavaliers piled up 13 rejections, the second most in a three-set match in program history since rally scoring was instituted in 2001. Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) led the Virginia block with 10 total rejections. Sunday marked the second time this season with double-digit blocks for the freshman.
Offensively, junior Kat Young (Chantilly, Va.) and sophomore Christine Jarman (Boynton Beach, Fla.) led the Cavaliers along with Ciprian. On a day in which the usual suspects were held in check, Young and Jarman produced stellar matches with eight and seven kills, respectively. Ciprian added seven kills as well while hitting .385.
The Demon Deacons were led by Myca Mitchell with 10 kills. Virginia limited Wake Forest to just .098 in attack on the day.
SET 1: Virginia 25, Wake Forest 21
Back-to-back blocks from the duo of Ciprian and Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) jumpstarted the Cavaliers to a 3-1 advantage. Ciprian went on to join Alex Spencer (North Canton, Ohio) on two more blocks as Virginia stormed to an 11-4 advantage.
Wake Forest worked its way back into the set with a pair of 3-0 runs, closing within three at 17-14 on Caroline Kuhn’s service ace. The Demon Deacons would get as close as 22-21 before Virginia rolled off three-straight points to seal the set.
Ciprian racked up five blocks in the set as the Cavaliers held Wake Forest to -.061 hitting with 10 errors.
SET 2: Virginia 25, Wake Forest 22
Both sides hit over .500 in the early going of the second, but a pair of Virginia service errors and two Wake Forest aces helped the Demon Deacons build a 16-10 lead. The Cavaliers raced back with a 5-0 run, keyed by a pair of kills and a block from Young.
Virginia eventually drew even at 21-21 behind Ciprian’s sixth block of the day and another Demon Deacon error. The Cavaliers would finish the set on a 4-0 run, sparked by another block and kill from Young. The middle blocker produced five kills and three blocks in the 25-22 victory.
SET 3: Virginia 25, Wake Forest 21
Virginia’s strong block once again keyed a quick start, as Ciprian jumped on a pair of rejections in a 5-0 run. The Demon Deacons rallied back, using an 8-0 run to build a 16-13 lead of their own.
The Wake Forest lead held up to 21-19 before Virginia found another late run to close the match. The Cavaliers scored the final six points of the match, two of which came off blocks. Ciprian was in on both rejections, joining Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Grace Turner (Cincinnati, Ohio) in sealing the sweep.
QUICK HITS
• Virginia held Wake Forest to .098 hitting, the lowest mark by an ACC opponent in the past 21 conference matches (BC – 10/26/17).
• Jarman’s seven kills are her most at Virginia. She also added seven digs to her outstanding performance.
• The Cavaliers committed just 11 errors, the second fewest in a match this season.
• The 13 blocks were the most in a three-set match for Virginia since 2006.
• Ciprian’s 10 blocks are the second most in a three-set match in Virginia history.
UP NEXT
Virginia continues its road trip next weekend, as it travels to Clemson (Nov. 2) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 4).