Virginia Falls in ACC Clash at Miami, 3-0
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Virginia Cavaliers (2-11, 0-11 ACC) fell in straight sets against the Miami Hurricanes (7-4, 7-4 ACC) on Saturday afternoon, 3-0, at Miami’s Knight Sports Complex. Miami won the match 25-17, 25-15, 25-15.
Sarah Billiard led UVA with eight kills, while Christine Jarman added five kills. Megan Wilson had 13 assists, while Jarman had a team-best eight digs in the losing cause.
SET 1: MIA 25-17
The Cavaliers and Hurricanes battled early in the set. Jayna Francis’ kill tied the set at 3-3. Miami slowly built separation by going on an 8-3 run. An attack error by Jarman capped the run for Miami as the Hurricanes led by five points, 11-6.
UVA made a bit of a comeback, going on a 7-5 spurt, cutting its deficit to three points, 16-13. Billiard capped the run with a kill. Miami responded with a 7-2 streak, taking a solid 23-15 lead of the set. Angela Grieve capped the run for the Hurricanes with a kill. Miami closed the set splitting the next four points, 2-2, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
SET 2: MIA 25-15
Miami jumped out early on the Cavaliers with an 8-1 run. The Cavaliers played catchup the rest of the set. UVA got back to within four points, 13-9, courtesy of an 8-5 spurt. Back-to-back kills by Mattison Matthews and Jarman capped the run for the Cavaliers.
A 7-3 streak by Miami increased the Hurricanes’ lead to 20-12. UVA scored back-to-points to make it 20-14 Billiard’s service ace cut the Miami lead to six. Miami finished the set on a 5-1 run, including the set’s last four points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3: MIA 25-15
Miami jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the third set, capped on a kill by Elizaveta Lukianova. UVA clawed its way back slowly via a 10-7 spurt. A ball-handling error by Miami’s Savannah Vach finished the streak and cut UVA’s deficit to two points, 12-10.
UVA and Miami traded points back and forth till the Hurricanes led 14-12 after a kill by the Cavaliers’ Grace Turner. Miami closed out the set on an 11-3 streak to take the match, 3-0.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
“Miami kept us on our heels tonight. We weren’t able to find a rhythm on either side of the ball. We have a unique opportunity to play Miami a second time this weekend, and redeem ourselves tomorrow, and I expect us to do just that.– head coach Aaron Smith
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers and Hurricanes meet again on Sunday afternoon in a non-conference match. The contest will start at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACCNX.