RALEIGH, N.C. – The Virginia volleyball team (12-16, 4-13 ACC) fell in four sets, 14-25, 19-25, 25-20, 17-25, to NC State (15-13, 9-8 ACC) Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 23) in Reynolds Coliseum.
The Cavaliers were led by Grace Turner (10 kills, 10 digs), Veresia Yon (7 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces) and Gabby Easton (28 assists, 11 digs).
Set 1: NC State 25, Virginia 14
The Wolfpack led for the entirety of set No. 1 after scoring the first four points to open the match. NC State led 8-5 before scoring seven straight points to open up a 10-point lead, one in which the Cavaliers could not overcome. Yon led UVA with three kills in the first frame.
Set 2: NC State 25, Virginia 19
Virginia put down three straight kills early in set No. 2 to shrink NC State’s lead to 9-8. The Cavaliers topped their own 3-0 run with four unanswered scores later in the set to tie it, 14-14, after back-to-back aces by Turner. NC State led 18-17 before the Wolfpack scored seven of the last nine points to win the second and capture a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
Set 3: Virginia 25, NC State 20
Coming out of the break, NC State leaped out to an 8-4 advantage to begin the third, but the Hoos scored six straight points to flip the score a grasp a 10-8 lead. During the Virginia scoring spree, Yon registered two service aces and GG Carvacho put down two of her five second-set kills. Carvacho’s fifth and final of the frame kill ignited another UVA run – this one 5-0 – to deliver set point in the Cavaliers’ favor, 24-17. The Wolfpack scored the next three points, but Carvacho and Mattison Matthews teamed up for a block to end the set and cut the NC State lead to 2-1.
Set 4: NC State 25, Virginia 17
The Wolfpack led for most of the fourth after NCSU scored four straight points to gain a 6-3 lead early on. Virginia was within striking distance toward the back half of game No. 4, when a kill by Yon capped a 4-1 UVA run and reduced the Wolfpack’s lead to 18-15. From there, NC State won seven of the final nine plays, including back-to-back aces, to end the match.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- With a pair of aces in Wednesday’s match, Grace Turner tallied her 100th career service ace. The last UVA player to record at least 100 aces in a career was Lexi Riccolo (2013-16), who finished with 117 aces in 487 sets played.
- With 10 digs, Turner surpassed the 600 career dig milestone. Turner now has 604 total digs.
- Both Turner (10 kills, 10 digs) and Gabby Easton (28 assists, 11 digs) posted double-doubles. Wednesday’s outing marked Turner’s fifth of the season and 10th of her career, and for Easton, her sixth of 2022.
- First year defensive specialist Kate Johnson posted a season-high 11 digs. Johnson’s previous best was eight digs in UVA’s win over Florida State (Oct. 14)
- With the win, NC State improved to 39-35 in the all-time series, which began in 1981, and tallied its 10th straight victory over the Cavaliers.
- For the second time this season, the Wolfpack finished with at least 14.0 blocks against UVA.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers conclude their 2022 season at North Carolina (15-12, 7-9 ACC) on Saturday (Nov. 26). First serve from Carmichael Arena is set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).