Turner’s Career Day Not Enough As BC Outlasts Cavaliers in Five Sets

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – For the second year in a row, Boston College (17-10, 5-8 ACC) knocked off Virginia (11-13, 3-10 ACC) on the Eagles’ home court in a five-set showdown, this time 25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13 from the Connell Recreation Center on Friday afternoon (Nov. 4). The two teams were separated by just two points for the entire match with BC holding the edge, 108-106.

It only took Virginia outside hitter Grace Turner four complete sets to register a career-high 24 kills, the most by a Cavalier in a single match since 2018. Turner took 54 swings, hit .296 and registered eight digs. Middle blocker Veresia Yon notched 11 kills with no attack errors on 14 swings to hit .786, the best hitting percentage by a UVA player in a single match since 2016. Setter Gabby Easton dished out match-high 46 assists and tied for a match-high four aces.

For the match, Virginia hit .280, its best hitting percentage in an ACC contest since 2019.

Set 1: Boston College 25, Virginia 19
Despite out-hitting Boston College at the media timeout, UVA found itself trailing 15-14 after racking up five of its six total service errors in the first half of the set. The Eagles led 18-17 before embarking on their largest scoring run of the game, 5-0, to extend their lead to 23-17. Virginia broke up the BC scoring run on a block by Turner and Abby Tadder coming out of a UVA timeout, but the Eagles won two of the next three points to win the set. Turner led all UVA players with five kills on 12 swings at the end of game No. 1.

Set 2: Virginia 25, Boston College 19
Virginia looked much more refined in the second as the Cavaliers claimed four of the five total service aces in set No. 2. Turner led all players with six kills in the second. Virginia pushed out to a 12-7 lead thanks to a 4-0 run in the middle of the frame. Later, the Cavaliers secured their largest lead of the match, 22-14, which prompted a BC timeout. Coming out of the huddle, the Eagles finessed four straight points to cut the UVA lead to just four, 22-8, before the Cavaliers signaled for time. Virginia closed out the second by registering kills on three of the final four plays of the game, which began and ended with Turner’s 10^th and 11^th kills of the match, respectively.

Set 3: Boston College 26, Virginia 24
Coming out of the intermission, the Cavaliers dug themselves an early hole, trailing 16-8 to start the third. With the score 17-10 in favor of the Eagles, Virginia switched from a 5-1 to a 6-2, which seemed to be the catalyst in shifting momentum in Virginia’s favor for the latter half of game No. 3. After trailing 19-10 – its largest deficit of the set – UVA came roaring back to tie the frame, 21-21, with the help of a 6-0 run. Three straight UVA kills gave the Hoos set point, 24-22, but the Eagles scored four straight to claim the set, 26-24. Tadder provided a lift for the Cavaliers with three kills late in game No. 3. Once again, Turner finished the set with five kills, bringing her total to 16 terminations through three games.

Set 4: Virginia 25, Boston College 23
Virginia nabbed an early 6-3 lead after scoring on three straight kills and a block assist. The Eagles remained in striking distance the rest of the way, tying the set three times throughout. A kill from Easton gave UVA set point, 24-22, before the Eagles cut the UVA lead back to one (24-23) on the very next play. Coming out of a Virginia timeout, Turner ripped her eighth kill of the set and 24^th of the match on an assist from Easton, which ultimately ricocheted off the BC backrow defender and fell to the floor.

Set 5: Boston College 15, Virginia 13
The Eagles led by as many as four points twice, including as late as 13-9 before UVA signaled for time. The two teams traded points coming out of the Virginia timeout to deliver match point for BC, 14-10. The Cavaliers claimed three straight points on kills from Yon and Tadder, who finished the match with seven kills, and an Eagles’ attack error to make the score 14-13 in favor of BC. Virginia appeared to have tied the frame, 14-14, after an Eagles’ attack landed out of bounds, but a successful challenge by Boston College head coach Jason Kennedy flipped the score and delivered BC’s third consecutive victory.

NOTES

• Grace Turner posted a career-high 24 kills on 54 swings with just eight attack errors to hit .296. Turner also added a pair of aces, eight digs and a block assist.
• Turner’s 24 kills are the most by a Cavalier in a single match since Oct. 5, 2018, when Sarah Billiard also record 24 kills against Boston College.
• Turner currently has 896 career kills, just four shy of No. 900.
• Middle blocker Veresia Yon notched 11 kills with no attack errors on 14 swings to hit .786, the best hitting percentage (min. 10 TA) by a UVA player since Chino Anukwuem hit .833 with 10 kills, no errors and 12 swings against Saint Louis in 2016.
• Setter Gabby Easton dished out match-high 46 assists and tied for a match-high four aces, marking the second four-ace performance for Easton this season.
• With 60 kills, 23 attack errors and 132 total swings, Virginia hit .280, which is its best hitting percentage in a conference matchup since Nov. 3, 2019, when the Cavaliers hit .319 against Wake Forest.
• Virginia finished with eight total service aces, which marks the fourth time this season the Cavaliers have aced their opponent at least eight times.
• Out of Virginia’s 24 matches this season, 10 of them have required a fifth set. Virginia is now 6-4 in such contests.
• With the win, the Eagles improved to 19-9 in the all-time series, which began in 1988, and extend their win streak over UVA to three consecutive matches.

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers travel to Syracuse (10-12, 6-6 ACC) on Sunday (Nov. 6). First serve from the Women’s Building is set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).