Virginia Catches Fire in Win Over Wake Forest
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (10-15, 2-10 ACC) hit .319 to earn a 21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-11 victory over Wake Forest (11-12, 1-11 ACC) on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 3) in Memorial Gymnasium.
The Cavalier attack produced its most proficient performance in ACC play this year with the .319 hitting percentage. Jayna Francis (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) co-led the Virginia effort with 11 kills in the match. Mattison Matthews (Charleston, S.C.) added 10 to give the Cavaliers three in double figures on the day.
Peyton Suess led Wake Forest and the match with 12 terminations, but the Demon Deacons hit just .169 in the match. Caitlyn Della added nine kills to Wake Forest’s attack.
SET 1: Wake Forest 25-21
Back-to-back Virginia misfires helped Wake Forest to a 6-3 lead early in the set. Virginia rallied to draw even at 10-10 on a service ace from Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.). After the teams traded points to 15-15, Wake Forest rattled off a 6-0 run to wrest control of the set.
Virginia responded with a 4-0 run to close within 21-19, but Wake held off the Cavaliers behind a pair of kills from setter Parker Kwiatkowski.
SET 2: Virginia 25-16
Virginia created some early space with a 4-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) served the Cavaliers on the run and capped it with an ace. The Cavaliers continued their onslaught in the middle of the set, expanding the lead to 20-13 on a Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) kill.
Virginia never looked back, stifling the Demon Deacon attack to just .061 in the set.
SET 3: Virginia 25-19
Matthews caught fire in the third set, flooring five kills to lead Virginia to a 25-19 set. The middle hit .833 in the frame as the Cavaliers hit .387 as a team. Virginia built an early 10-6 lead thanks to two consecutive service aces from Francis. The Cavaliers then used a 3-0 run to extend the advantage to 17-11 after Novakovic rifled an ace of her own.
Billiard capped the frame with one of her four kills in the set to put Virginia ahead 2-1 in the match.
SET 4: Virginia 25-11
In the fourth set, it was all about Francis for UVA as the outside nailed home six kills. She hit .667 in an errorless set to lead a .438 Virginia attack in the frame. Leading 10-7, the Cavaliers launched an 11-2 assault to bust open the set. Back-to-back blocks, one a solo effort from Ciprian and the other a pairing of Ciprian and Billiard, highlighted the big run.
Virginia left no room for doubt, as Francis hammered home the final kill to earn the victory.
QUICK HITS
• Virginia piled up 10 blocks, led by seven from Ciprian and four from Matthews.
• The 10 rejections match Virginia’s ACC high this season with the previous mark coming in the victory over Virginia Tech.
• Alex Spencer (North Canton, Ohio) led Virginia and the match with 13 digs while Kristen Leland (Dallas, Texas) added 10.
• Novakovic produced nine kills and hit .364 on the day.
• The victory marked Virginia’s first win when losing the first set this season.
• Virginia hit .377 after the first set.
UP NEXT
Virginia continues its four-match homestand next weekend when the Cavaliers host Clemson and Georgia Tech.