Virginia Rolls Past Clemson in Straight Sets
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (11-15, 3-10 ACC) rode a red-hot attack to a 25-18, 25-19, 25-16 sweep of Clemson (10-14, 4-9) on Friday (Nov. 8) in Memorial Gymnasium.
Freshman Jayna Francis (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the Cavaliers with 11 kills while hitting .400 in the win. Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.) added 10 kills to Virginia’s attack. Mattison Matthews (Charleston, Va.) produced six terminations and added five blocks.
Clemson hit just .040 in the match thanks to 12 Virginia blocks. The Tigers were paced by seven kills from Kaylin Korte.
SET 1: Virginia 25-18
Virginia hit a blistering .459 in the opening set while flooring an eye-popping 22 kills to take the first. Three different Cavaliers, Billiard, Francis and Matthews, had five kills in the set. Virginia did not commit an unforced error in the set, misfiring only on five Clemson blocks.
Leading 15-14, the Cavaliers went on a 6-2 run to open a five-point advantage. Matthews had a pair of kills in the decisive run.
SET 2: Virginia 25-19
Five more kills from Francis kept the Cavalier onslaught in high gear in the middle frame. Virginia also found its block, sending back four Tiger attacks.
Virginia raced to a 10-4 lead in the frame as Clemson misfired on three-straight attacks. The Cavaliers continued to control the set and extend their lead, reaching 21-13 on a Jelena Novakovic (Belgrade, Serbia) kill. Clemson closed within 23-19, but Virginia answered with another Francis termination to end the set.
SET 3: Virginia 25-16
The third set was all about the block as Virginia stuffed seven Clemson attacks. The result was a negative-.128 hitting percentage for the Tigers. Billiard and Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) each had a pair of solo blocks in the set. Ciprian added two more block assists to lead the Cavaliers with four total blocks in the frame.
The set was tight at 13-11 before Virginia rattled off a 6-2 run to extend the advantage to 19-13. A subsequent 6-3 run would close the set and seal the sweep for the Cavaliers.
QUICK HITS
• Virginia’s six solo blocks are the most this season for the Cavaliers.
• Billard’s five blocks are a season high for the junior.
• Francis’ .400 hitting percentage is her best mark in ACC play this season and second-best overall.
• Megan Wilson (Brookville, Md.) dished out 19 assists while Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.) added another 14.
UP NEXT
Virginia hosts Georgia Tech on Sunday (Nov. 10) at 1 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.