Virginia Opens Home Slate Against Charlotte on Friday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia volleyball team (5-1) hosts Charlotte (5-2) in its 2022 home opener on Friday (Sept. 9) at 7 p.m. before holding a rematch against the 49ers in Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday (Sept. 10) at 3 p.m.

Admission to all Virginia volleyball regular-season matches is free to the public.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Both matches against the 49ers are set to stream on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) through the ESPN app, which is available through participating TV providers that carry ACC Network.
• Live stats will also be available for both matches and can be accessed via the Cavaliers’ schedule page on com.

PARKING INFORMATION

• Fans planning to attend Virginia volleyball matches this season are encouraged to park in the Culbreth, Central Grounds or Emmet/Ivy parking garages utilizing the ParkMobile app.
• For more information regarding hourly parking locations and payments, visit virginia.edu/parkmobile.
• Note: On home football game dates, parking is available in the Central Grounds and Emmet/Ivy parking garages at a rate of $15 per day.

SERIES HISTORY

• Virginia takes on Charlotte for just the third time in series history, which the Cavaliers lead, 2-0.
• The two teams met in 1984 and 1985 in Charlottesville with UVA coming out on top, 3-0, 3-2, respectively.

LAST TIME OUT

• Virginia went 3-0 in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Xavier Tournament with wins over the Musketeers, Purdue Fort Wayne and Eastern Michigan.
• After trailing 2-0 against Xavier (Sept. 2), the Cavaliers stormed back to complete the come-from-behind five-set win over the Musketeers. The last time UVA came back to win in five sets after trailing a match 2-0 was on Nov. 13, 2016 at Notre Dame (13-25,20-25,25-23,25-15,15-13).
• The following day at the Xavier Tournament, UVA defeated Purdue Fort Wayne (Sept. 3) in straight sets before fending off Eastern Michigan in five sets later that evening.
• Libero Madison Morey, middle blocker Abby Tadder and outside hitter Grace Turner (MVP) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
• For the tournament, UVA led its opponents in hitting percentage, .225 to .128.

ABBY TADDER IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS

• Virginia middle blocker Abby Tadder is currently 16th in the nation and second in the ACC in hitting percentage with a clip of .444 (58-14-99).
• Through the first two weekends of play, Tadder has nabbed all-tournament honors.
• In addition to her efficient hitting percentage, Tadder leads the Cavaliers in blocks (25.0) and blocks per set (1.09).

GATORS INVITATIONAL

• Virginia kicked off the 2022 season by going 2-1 at the Gators Invitational in Gainesville, Florida with wins over ETSU (Aug. 26) and UNF (Aug 27) before falling to No. 15 Florida (Aug. 27).
• Outside hitter Jayna Francis and middle blocker Abby Tadder were named to the all-tournament team. Francis, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first set against the Gators, led UVA in kills per set (2.63) and hit .436 for the tournament, while Tadder was second on the team in kills per set (2.60) and hit .455. Tadder also led UVA in blocks per set (1.00)
• Libero Madison Morey turned in a career-high 26 digs in UVA’s season-opening four-set win over ETSU. Morey’s 26 digs are the most by a Cavalier in a single match since 2020.

VIRGINIA WELCOMES FIVE NEWCOMERS IN 2022

• Of UVA’s 16 active players, five of them are new to the program.
• The Cavaliers’ 2022 roster features four transfers: setter Gabby Easton (Ole Miss), outside hitter GG Carvacho (Ole Miss), middle blocker Veresia Yon (West Florida) and right side hitter Chloe Wilson (Wake Forest).
• The additions of Carvacho (6-3), Yon (6-1) and Wilson (6-5) bolstered the Cavaliers’ height on the front row, while Easton is an athletic left-handed setter.
• UVA’s lone freshman Kate Johnson is a defensive specialist and was a dual-sport athlete in at Bucholz High School (Gainesville, Fla.), where she played soccer.
• All five UVA newcomers in Gabby Easton, Kate Johnson, GG Carvacho, Vereisa Yon and Chloe Wilson made their UVA debuts at the Gators Invitational.

SETTING BY COMMITTEE

• Virginia’s two setters this season are Ashley Le and Gabby Easton.
• Last season, Le was the Cavaliers’ starting setter and led the team in assists (5.16/set) primarily in a 6-2 rotation.
• Easton transferred to UVA from Ole Miss in January 2022. During the 2020 season, Easton appeared in 19 matches and led the team in assists (8.91/set). Prior to her tenure with the Rebels, Easton played for Clemson in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, she earned ACC All-Freshman honors after finishing second in the league in assists (10.83/set). Her 1,387 total assists in 2018 stand at No. 2 all-time by a freshman in Clemson history.

SEASON OVERVIEW

• This year marks the 44th season of Virginia Volleyball, which held its inaugural season in 1979.
• The Hoos are slated to face four AVCA preseason top-25 teams, including three teams ranked in the top 10, in No. 4 Louisville (Oct. 21), No. 6 Pitt (Sept. 28), at No. 9 Georgia Tech (Oct. 7) and at No. 15 Florida (Aug. 27).
• Virginia’s 2022 schedule consists of seven 2021 NCAA Tournament teams in Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.
• With a home-and-home series against Virginia Tech, both matches between UVA and the Hokies will be worth 0.5 points toward the Commonwealth Clash standings, presented by Smithfield.
• The Cavaliers will host 14 home matches in 2022.
• For the first time in history, Virginia faced Purdue Fort Wayne (Sept. 3) and is set to play Mercer (Sept. 16).

THE ACC: THE NATION’S PREMIER VOLLEYBALL CONFERENCE

• Last season, the Atlantic Coast Conference led all conferences in the nation in both RPI and adjusted RPI.
• For the first time in league history, two ACC teams (Louisville and Pitt) advanced to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament semifinals in 2021.
• In addition to the Cardinals and Panthers, Georgia Tech was also one of three ACC teams to advance to the Elite 8, also a first in ACC history.
• A record-tying six ACC schools made the 2021 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, including No. 1 overall seed Louisville, which won 32 consecutive matches last season.