Virginia Falls 3-1 to Miami
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A hot-hitting Miami (7-4, 3-1 ACC) toppled Virginia (4-10, 0-4 ACC) 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18 on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium.
Freshman Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) had a career day with eight blocks for the Cavaliers. She added nine kills and hit a team-leading .353. Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) led Virginia with 14 kills in the loss.
The Hurricanes finished the day hitting .315 as a team with four players over 10 kills. Elizaveta Lukianova led the match with 15 kills while hitting .519 with just a single error. Bridget Wallenberger added 13 kills and hit .571 as the pairing powered Miami to the 3-1 victory.
SET 1: Miami 25, Virginia 21
Miami opened an early lead of 4-1 behind a pair of kills from Lukianova. The Hurricanes continued the early push with a 7-0 run to build a 13-4 edge.
Trailing 20-13, Virginia put together a late run to close within three at 24-21, but Miami’s .324 hitting percentage proved too much in the opening frame. Chloe Brown led the Hurricanes with four kills in the set while Billiard and Ciprian posted three to lead the Cavaliers.
SET 2: Virginia 25, Miami 21
Virginia used a 6-0 run to build an 8-3 advantage to open the set. Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) produced a pair of kills in the run to jumpstart the Cavaliers. Moments later, Grace Turner (Cincinnati, Ohio) rolled off back-to-back service aces to swell the lead to 11-5.
Miami pulled itself back into the set with a 4-0 run to trim a 19-13 Cavalier lead down to just two points. Virginia turned to Billiard, who beat back the Miami rally by flooring the Cavaliers’ last three kills to take the set 25-21.
SET 3: Miami 25, Virginia 20
Miami took the early advantage in the third, capitalizing on three Virginia errors while hitting .700 to open the frame. The quick start built an 11-6 lead for the Hurricanes.
Once again, Virginia attempted to rally late, pulling within 20-17 on a block from Ciprian and Novakovic. The duo paired up again to make it a 22-20 set, but Miami claimed the next three points for the 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead.
SET 4: Miami 25, Virginia 18
After Miami started quickly again in the fourth, Virginia used a 4-0 run to turn a 7-4 deficit into a brief lead. Novakovic and Ciprian teamed up for a pair of blocks in the run, but the Hurricanes answered with five-straight points to make it 12-8 in favor of Miami.
The Hurricanes never looked back, taking full control of the set and cruising to a 25-18 victory.
QUICK HITS
• Turner recorded a career-high 14 digs, doubling her previous best.
• For the second time this season, Novakovic set a career best in blocks with eight.
• Alex Spencer (North Canton, Ohio) floored seven kills and added 11 digs
• Miami committed just five unforced errors in the match.
UP NEXT
Virginia continues its four-match homestand by hosting Boston College on Friday (Oct. 5) and Syracuse on Sunday (Oct. 7).